


Supergirl Pride Month Prompt Fills

by SandstoneSunspear



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Implied/Reference Transphobia, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-17 10:26:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 59,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14830530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandstoneSunspear/pseuds/SandstoneSunspear
Summary: A bunch of prompts for Pride Month that I hope to fill in a timely manner.





	1. Pets - Director Sanvers

**Author's Note:**

> Found a prompt chart for Pride Month and figured I’d try my hand at it. I’m a day behind because life. Parings are random, but the fandom should stay Supergirl.

Growing up as the daughter of a career military man, Lucy never had pets. No dog, no cat, not even a fish or a hamster. Sure, other military families had them, but not the Lanes.

 _There’s no space in this house for one_ , Sam Lane would say.

 _We have the space_ , Lucy would think, but hold her tongue. Sam Lane didn’t welcome backtalk.

_They’re a waste of resources and time._

_Are you talking about a dog, or your kids?_ Lois snarked exactly once, following the death of their mother. Lucy could only watch with horror as the row that had erupted between her sister and father ended with a harsh slap to Lois’s face. It signaled the beginning of Lois's estrangement from the both of them.

_They’re nothing more than a distraction._

_And we can’t afford distractions,_ Lucy would finish, careful to hide her bitterness from him.

Once she was out of Sam Lane’s house and establishing a name for herself, Lucy entertained the idea of getting a dog. As the years dragged on, though, the practicality of it died out. She wasn’t a career military person like her father, but ten years of postings in various countries, three tours in Afghanistan, and her work with the DEO meant that home was less a place to live and more a place to sleep.

Then Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer entered her life. It was easy to admit that she was attracted to the both of them, but she was incredibly wary of starting anything with them after her failed relationship with James. They were understanding though, more than happy to let Lucy go at her own pace. The three of them almost became something after Alex’s kidnapping, but before they could, Lucy found herself whisked away by the president and placed on a special assignment to infiltrate Cadmus.

It didn’t go well. Unbeknownst to her, Maxwell Lord had discovered the operation. He leaked information about her assignment to Lillian Luthor in exchange for Cadmus’s technology, resulting in Lucy’s capture the minute she entered Cadmus’s main base. Cadmus spent the next six months torturing her before ultimately shoving a control chip into her skull. They quietly released her, forcing her to live as an unwilling double agent. She fought it as best she could, but in the end, she could only watch as used her as a puppet to undermine Kara and the DEO. The DEO caught on and imprisoned her. Lucy looked on from her cell as J’onn and the others debated what to do.

To no one’s surprise Alex was the one who figured out how to block the control chip and remove it without killing Lucy. She placed Lucy into a medically induced coma for nearly three weeks while she worked to excise the chip. She was successful, but the treatment had an unfortunate side effect. As one final countermeasure against removal, the chip forced Lucy to relive everything she had been forced to do while under Cadmus’s control, magnifying her feelings of guilt and helplessness. She awoke three weeks later, free but numb.

At first, Lucy denied anything was wrong. Her answers during her mandated therapy sessions were terse and short. Upon finding out that it was Lord that had led to her capture, Lucy’s mood soured even further. _I’m tired and angry and want nothing more than to shove a boot knife into Max Lord’s skull,_ she growled out in one session. Henderson had nodded approvingly at the progress, only to frown at Lucy’s declaration that, aside from that, she was just peachy.

It took 14 sessions for her to admit that everything wasn’t okay. An exhausted Lucy stumbled into Henderson’s office and admitted that she wasn’t sleeping, even after moving in with Alex and Maggie. The nightmares were still too much. On more than one occasion, she would dream of her hands closing around their throats and choking the life from the both of them, only to wake up just as the light left their eyes. She would awaken with a scream dying in her throat, frantically checking either side of her to make sure that they were okay before trying to get back to sleep. It never worked.

At least, it hadn’t until several nights previous. She told Henderson that the past few nights, Alex’s service dog had woken her up before the dreams could get too rough. Much to Maggie and Alex’s amusement, Gertrude would settle on top of Lucy before bed and refused to move.

_Does it help?_

The question made Lucy pause and think. Then, she nodded. The pressure that Gertrude provided was grounding. She knew, somehow, when to wake Lucy up before things could progress too far. Lucy still wasn’t sleeping great, and she was exhausted beyond belief, but Gertrude’s help proved invaluable.

Henderson nodded. She scribbled a few notes down in Lucy’s chart and leaned back. _Well, Director Lane, do you want the good news or bad news first?_

 _Bad news_. Rip off the bandaid and get it over with.

 _You have PTSD._ No pity or fanfare about it, just a statement of fact. She knew that Lucy probably knew, but verbal confirmation was always the best.

_And the good news?_

_You remember Moira Amari?_ Lucy nodded. Moira had been an agent with the DEO until a fight with a Fort Rozz prisoner had left her a double amputee. _She trains service dogs. I’ll be making an appointment for you to speak with her._  

-

It was how Lucy found herself standing outside of Moira’s house three days later. Alex and Maggie were by her side. Gertrude was off to the side, sniffing around. The door opened. Moira stepped out.

“Director Lane?” Lucy nodded. “C’mon in.”

The three of them entered the house with Gertrude taking up the rear. The borzoi stayed a few paces behind the humans as she took in the interior.

“Jacqueline’s timing was perfect, Dorothy just had a litter, so there’s going to be plenty of pups around,” she informed Lucy as they walked. “There’s also a few old timers, dogs that are trained but whose original assignments didn’t work out or whose people either passed before they could go into service.”

“How does this work?” Lucy asked. “Do I just pick a dog?”

Moira shook her head. “Nope, the dog picks you.”

Lucy couldn’t help herself. “Like in Harry Potter?” She felt her face heat up as soon as the words left her mouth.

To her relief, Moira wasn’t offended. She laughed. “Exactly like that.” A thoughtful look crossed her face. “I should use that.”

They all stopped just outside of large, open room that was gated off. They could all hear the sounds of eager puppies. Moira moved the gate and led them in. Once inside, she replaced the gate before pointing to a couch.

“Alright, go sit over there, Director Lane,” she ordered. “I’ll go get everyone.”

Lucy settled in on the couch. Maggie and Alex sat next to her. Gertrude settled in front of Alex and closed her eyes.. Lucy leaned to the side and placed her head on Alex’s shoulder while intertwining her right hand with Maggie’s. Alex ran her fingers through Lucy’s hair.

“It’ll be fine, Luce,” Alex reassured it. “It’s really simple.”

“You version of simple and my version of simple are two very different things, Alex,” she drawled.

Maggie snickered as Alex huffed. Before she could say anything, loud yaps caught their attention. Soon, a flood of puppies was on its way.

The first dog that caught Lucy’s attention was like a hamster on crack. It barrelled towards Lucy at full speed before tripping over its own legs. It tumbled, rolled for a few feet, then immediately jumped back up, barking all the while. Lucy unconsciously shook her head. Moira seemed to agree. She picked the dog up before it could get any further.

“Sorry buddy, you’re not right for her,” she told it before turning it around. Once on the ground, it ran back to Dorothy.

The second dog made it further than its sibling had, only to stop short at the sight of Gertrude. The borzoi cracked an eye open, sat up, and blinked at the newcomer. The puppy barked exactly once before running back to Moira. Lucy had to fight back a laugh at just how offended Gertrude looked.

“Alright, maybe next time, kiddo,” Moira said, moving the dog back in Dorothy’s direction.

It went on for a while. Every so often, Moira would shake her head and intercept a pup before it could even approach Lucy. Lucy grew more and more discouraged as dog after dog was weeded out. Then, a black scruffy mop appeared. She was immediately intrigued. Unlike the others, this dog was calm as it made its way to Lucy. It stopped in front of Gertrude and booped noses with her. Then, it sat in front of Lucy and waited.

Lucy reached down and picked it up. It placed its paws on her shoulders and licked her face. Lucy couldn’t help it. She laughed.

Moira nodded approvingly as she walked up to the triad. “That’s Ripley,” she said. “Terrier/schnauzer mix, ‘bout a year and a half old.”

Lucy ran her fingers through Ripley’s fur. Ripley settled down in Lucy’s lap. “She’s perfect.”

“Yeah, she is,” Moira agreed. “She’s one of the calmest ones here, surprisingly enough. Gets along with everyone and rarely barks.” She tilted her head. “To be honest, I’m surprised she even came out with the others today.”

Lucy gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“Ripley here was actually trained as a PTSD service dog, but the guy that was supposed to take her died about six months ago. Car crash.” She gave a sad smile. “Rip’s been pretty depressed since he died. I’ve been trying to find a new match for her ever since, but it’s been hard because she usually just stays in the back.”

Lucy nodded understandingly. “Well, what do you say, Ripley? Think you can help me out?” she asked.

Ripley barked. Lucy smiled. She looked at Moira. “She’s the one.”

-

_Three weeks later_

Lucy woke to a cold nose nudging her face and pressure on her chest. She lifted her head and blinked blearily to see Ripley on top of her. Seeing Lucy awake, Ripley glanced left and right, then licked her face before settling back down. Lucy smiled. It was Ripley’s way of letting her know that Alex and Maggie were next to her, safe. She let her head thump back softly against the pillow. She reached up and ran her hand across Ripley’s wiry fur. The touch made Ripley’s tail go haywire.

 _There’s no space in this house for one,_ her father had said.

 _Yes there is, Dad_. There were two doggy beds, food bowls, and a wide assortment of dog toys that proved it.

 _They’re a waste of resources and time_ , he had said.

 _No they aren’t_. Ripley was a means for keeping Lucy sane, just like Gertrude was vital for helping Alex manage her migraines.

_They’re nothing more than a distraction._

_We can afford some distraction_. Without distraction, she would have eaten her gun out of guilt by now thanks to him.

Lucy closed her eyes. Next to her, Maggie snored quietly while Alex was cuddled against Lucy’s right. She smiled and let herself fall back to sleep. The nightmares didn’t return.


	2. Affirmations - Sanvers, feat. nb!Sawyer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawyer's new partner is an ass. Thankfully, Alex is there to make things a bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nb!Maggie (Sawyer) is sapphicscholar's idea. I'm just borrowing em for a bit.

Sawyer was tired. Two days ago, what was supposed to be a simple bust of an Alcoran smuggling ring turned out to be anything but and ended with Rodriguez breaking two ribs. The severity of the injury meant that he was immediately placed on sick leave for the next six weeks, leaving Sawyer partnerless. That would have been fine for Sawyer; it just meant that they would be riding the desk for the foreseeable future. But the newest addition to the Science Division, Harper Eamon, formerly of LAPD, changed that. The sergeant for the Science Division had taken note that Sawyer was without a partner, as was Eamon, and made the executive decision to partner them together. It proved to be a mistake.

Sawyer had taken one look at their temporary partner’s file and blanched. The man had an alarming amount of complaints lodged against him for excessive force, racial profiling, and documented accounts of homophobia. Sawyer knew trouble when they saw it. They immediately pulled for a desk assignment, catching the attention of their captain. He’d called them back for an explanation, only for Sawyer to point at Eamon’s file. One look and Sawyer’s request was granted.

But NCPD wasn’t willing to let the lead detective of the Science Division sit behind a desk for six weeks. To make matters worse, Eamon sensed that something was afoot and complained about being sidelined. And so, the orders came down: M. Sawyer was to work with Harper Eamon until Diego Rodriguez was back. 

Things had been fine for the first twenty minutes or so. Neither had said a word to each other, instead choosing to focus solely on the paperwork their new assignment brought them. Then, it began. First it was a comment about their sexuality.  _ So you’re that brown dyke everyone crows about. _ It was followed by a remark about their gender identity.  _ Wait, that’s not right. _ A wolfish grin that made them want to gag. _ You’re one of those tranny dykes. Couldn’t get chick as a woman, so you just decided to pretend to be a man instead.  _

By the end of their shift, Sawyer was ready to knock Eamon’s teeth in. Their jaw ached from having their teeth clenched so tightly. The minute the clock struck 6:30, they were up, shoving unfinished paperwork into their bag and out of the precinct without another word to anyone. 

-

The second they stepped through the front door of their apartment, Sawyer threw their bag onto the couch. They made their way over to the bed and collapsed onto it with a loud huff. They felt the bed dip. Half a second later, a pair of hands went to work on their shoulders. Sawyer turned their head and let out a groan.

“That feels amazing,” they said.

Alex hummed. “Rough day?”

“Orders came down for a new partner.”

Alex winced. New partners were never fun, especially for Sawyer. Sawyer being nonbinary was common knowledge these days within the NCPD. Not everyone was okay with it, but no one raised a fuss about it anymore.

“Want to talk about it?”

Sawyer was silent for several moments, then, “It’s stupid.” Alex raised an eyebrow that went unseen by them and waited for them to continue. “All the sergeant had to do was look at this fucker’s file to know that partnering him and me up was a bad idea! But no, he couldn’t be bothered and now I have to--ack!” They yelped when Alex’s knuckles dug into a particularly stubborn knot in their shoulder. 

“Sorry,” Alex immediately apologised. She moved to soothe the tender area. 

“I’m used to dealing with comments like Eamon’s,” Sawyer said. They exhaled harshly. “But this guy…” They pushed themself up and rolled onto their back. “I’m not a guy.”

“I know.” She moved to sit next to their head.

“I don’t want to be a guy.” 

“I know.”

They turned their head to look at her. Alex could see their eyes starting to get glassy with tears. She started to run her fingers through their hair to try and calm them down.  

“I don’t know why Eamon’s comments are getting to me, Alex,” they said. “I know who and what I am, some ignorant remarks from some stupid, transphobic white cis asshole from LA shouldn’t make me this upset.”

Alex leaned down and kissed their forehead. “You know it’s completely reasonable if they do, Sawyer,” she told them.

“Yeah…” 

Alex moved to straddle them. It drew a surprised noise from them. She looked down at them and wiped one away one of the tears that had fallen.

She kissed them. “Eamon’s an idiot.”  _ And I’ll be paying him a visit later. _

Another kiss. “You’re handsome and you’re beautiful.”

“You’re smart.” A kiss to their cheek.

“You’re compassionate.” A kiss to the opposite side of their face.

It went on for a while as Alex continued to murmur soft affirmations in between kisses. By the end of it, Sawyer’s tears had dried up. They were even starting to smile. 

“You are enough, just as you are, Sawyer,” she told them.

Sawyer leaned up and pressed their lips to hers. They hooked their leg around hers and flipped them, drawing a yelp from Alex as Sawyer reversed their positions.

“You’re amazing, Alex.” They gave her a lopsided grin. “And I love you.”

She returned their smile. “Love you too, Sawyer.”


	3. Closet - Director Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's journey from the closet to being out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline for this chapter is as follows:
> 
> Lucy enters the Academy in 94. Kate Kane is expelled that same year, the Monday after Ring Weekend. Lucy graduates in 98 and is promoted below the zone twice, once in December of 99 (1LT) and again in May of 01 (CPT). She meets Marie in August of 2000 and kisses her in December the same year. Marie dies in 2001 on 9/11. Lucy finishes her mandatory service in 2002, leaves the military, and goes to Harvard to get her JD/MBA. She rejoins in 2006. She meets James in early 2011, gets promoted to MAJ while deployed and formally moves in with him a year later. 2014, they break up and she goes to teach at West Point. 2016, she gets pulled from West Point by her father and moves to National City, where she meets the Superfriends. 2017, she takes command of the Desert Base before being recalled to National City in June. Director Sanvers starts up in mid-September, early October. End of 2017 sees them all move in together.

Director Sanvers, Lucy-centric

- 

It was Lucy’s first year at West Point when Kate Kane was removed from the Academy. She had watched from her quarters as the redhead was escorted from the grounds, flanked by two MPs. At first, no one could understand why Kate had left. Then the truth hit the barracks in a hushed whisper: Kate Kane was a lesbian, and instead of denying it, she had chosen to uphold the Honor Code. Kate’s dismissal terrified Lucy. She was bisexual. If the brass kicked out the their First Captain just for being gay, what would they do to her? And so, following Kate’s departure, Lucy dove so far into the closet that she wasn’t sure she would ever come back out, even if she managed to graduate.

She spent the next seven years hiding. She forced down crushes and feelings and threw herself into work instead. She pushed herself harder than was probably healthy, graduated with honors, and wound up promoted below the zone twice for her efforts. She watched as others were outed or came out themselves and lost everything and found herself torn between pity and hate. Pity that their lives in the military were over, and hate that they no longer had to worry about the crushing weight of DADT on their necks.

Then, Lucy met an EMT named Marie who quite literally ran into her life. While back stateside after a tour in Germany, Lucy had collided with the New York EMT on her way to a coffee shop. She ended up on her arse with coffee all over her BDUs and a very apologetic brunette standing over her. At first, Lucy was annoyed. Then her eyes met Marie’s and found herself rendered speechless. The two struck up a fast friendship.

Marie was everything Lucy wasn’t. Lucy was so deep in the closet, she swore she could see Narnia while Marie was out and proud. Lucy and Lois hadn’t spoken in years, but Marie called her sisters on a weekly basis to trade the latest family gossip. Marie was defiant and entirely unbeholden to the whims and expectations of her parents. Lucy’s time in the military had only started because it what was Sam Lane had expected of his youngest, though she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Before Lucy knew it, she was falling for Marie.

As time went on and her relationship with Marie deepened, Lucy found herself growing tired of hiding. On more than one occasion, she entertained the idea of coming out. Each time the thought came back, though, she pushed it back. She had come too far to lose everything. Then, on Christmas Eve at Rockefeller Center, the night before Lucy was set to return to Germany, Marie kissed her. She had been too stunned to say or do anything other than stare at the brunette. Unfortunately, Marie interpreted Lucy’s silence as rejection. She pulled away, giving Lucy a sad smile and apologised, walking away before Lucy could stop her. Lucy left for Germany the next day, her lips still burning from Marie’s kiss.

Germany couldn’t chase away the thoughts of Marie’s lips on hers. It was two weeks before Lucy made the decision to write her a letter. She knew it was risky. Mail checks happened from time to time, and if the contents of her letter were read, the chance that she would end up like Kate Kane was high. Still, she sent it anyway. It was a month before she heard a response. Lucy felt her heart stop when Marie’s letter finally reached her. It started beating again when she opened it and read it. It wasn’t long, just an address, a date and time, and the words, Be safe, written under a St. Christopher medal that Marie had attached. Lucy recognised the address immediately: it was the coffee shop where they had met.

They never ended up meeting at the date that Marie had set. Two weeks before Lucy made it back to New York, two planes struck the Twin Towers. As a first responder, Marie had rushed to the scene to try and help. She died when the second tower collapsed. Lucy found out later that Marie had been off duty when the planes hit, but jumped into the fray the minute the calls for help went out.

Her death crushed Lucy. Attending Marie’s funeral was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She stood in the back, stone faced, with the St. Christopher medal around her neck and watched as Marie’s family lowered an empty casket into the ground. There was no body, of course. The collapse of the second tower meant that retrieving her body was impossible. It made Lucy want to scream. But she stayed silent. It was only when the casket was in the ground did Marie’s sisters approach her.

 _She meant a lot to you._ Lucy said nothing. She couldn’t, not with the lump in her throat. She just gave them a curt nod instead.

 _You meant a lot to her too, you know._ A sad smile. _She couldn’t wait to see you again._

 _I couldn’t wait either._ Lucy broke down, falling into their arms and cried.

Lucy went back to Germany and into the closet. She got involved with a guy from Logistics, but kept Marie’s picture on her dresser.

_Who’s that?_

_My best friend,_ she lied and immediately hated herself. _She died when the towers came down._

She broke up with him two weeks later and, much to her father’s dismay, left the Army the next year for Harvard to get her JD. She threw herself into the program and, three weeks in, decided she would go for her MBA as well. She kept Marie’s picture in the living room of her flat.

 _Who’s that?_ One of her cohortmates asked one night.

Lucy took a long swing of her beer, wishing it was whiskey. _Someone I loved_ , she said truthfully and started to cry. _She died when the towers came down._

Later that night, when there were no more tears to be shed, Lucy crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling. While still not out completely, it was the closest she had ever been. She felt lighter.

Four years later, she was back in the Army and back in the closet. She dove headfirst into her work as trial counsel for JAG until her father caught wind of her return. To her dismay, he pulled strings to have her serve as a legal attaché for his staff. She hated it.

 _I heard some rumours about you while you were away_ , he mentioned quietly to her one day. She stopped breathing. _Are they true?_

 _No_ , she lied and immediately hated herself. She went home and put Marie’s picture in her dresser drawer.

Two weeks later, Lucy found out that one of her fellow officers was gay. Before anyone else could find out, she went to him and proposed an exchange: date her before the rumours could start and give her time to pull strings to get him transferred to a more open assignment. He agreed without hesitation.

He found the picture of Marie after he moved in. _Who’s this?_

 _Someone I loved_ , she said truthfully, knowing full well he understood. _She died when the towers came down._

It took Lucy four years before she had the favours she needed to get him transferred to a safer command. In that time, they became good friends and continued their charade no one any the wiser. A week before Lucy could call in her favours, news broke: DADT was no more. They took one look at each other and broke up.

 _It’s not you, it’s me_ , he joked as he packed his things.

She preened. _We both know I’m too good for you._

He laughed. _Friends_?

 _Of course_. A cheeky grin from her. _It would be a shame to lose contact with someone who as an ass as fine as yours._

Then he was gone. Lucy immediately placed a request for leave and, once it was granted, left for New York. She visited the coffee shop where she and Marie met, ordered the coffee that Marie had spilled all over her all those years ago, and went to visit Marie.

 _Sorry it took me so long to come back_ , she apologised with a bouquet of hyacinths clenched firmly in her hands. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

 _I’m bi, Marie_. Lucy opened her eyes. The world kept turning and birds continued to fly. She let out a breath. _I’m bi._

She placed the flowers on Marie’s grave and left, feeling a thousand times lighter than before. For the first time since Kate Kane had been escorted from West Point, she could breathe.

Upon her return to work, Lucy was met with her father raging about the changes in policy. This time, she refused to hold her tongue.

 _I’m bi, Dad._ He went silent almost immediately. _I’m one of those fucking queers you have to work with now and if I hadn’t just told you, you never would have known._ A beat, then Lucy remembered where she was. _Sir_.

_Get out._

Shortly thereafter, Lucy received orders for Afghanistan. She was gone two days later without another word to her father.

Afghanistan was full of everything Lucy hated: excessive amounts of sand, killer heat, and soldiers who were convinced that the UCMJ no longer applied to them just because they were in a warzone. It did have one thing she liked, however: a photojournalist named James Olsen. As far as war photographers went, he was probably as wet behind the ears as they came and she told him as much.

 _First assignment in a war zone?_ She asked him over coffee in the mess hall.

 _That obvious?_ He looked embarrassed.

She poked his neatly pressed button up. _Extremely. But it's easily fixed._

_Yeah?_

Lucy smirked and hummed the affirmative. She took a sip of her coffee. _Yes_.

The next day, James found himself face to face with a very disgruntled supply officer who grumbled about civilians with impractical clothing and death wishes. Before he could say anything in his defence, the officer pressed an ACU undershirt and desert coloured boots into his arms before turning her heel and marching back to her office.

 _Better?_ He asked the next time they he saw Lucy in the mess mall.

She appraised him and nodded. _Much_.

 _I still haven’t caught your name_ , he said. It was hard to when she keep her jacket and name tape out of sight.

_Major Lucy Lane, Judge Advocate General Corps._

_Lane? Like Lois Lane?_

His question made her cringe, but she nodded nonetheless. _She’s my sister._

He sat back. Lucy wanted to get up and leave, but she stayed put, waiting to see where this would go.

 _Never would’ve guessed._ He grinned at her. _You’ve got a better jaw than she does._

Lucy couldn’t help the smile that rose.

She and James became fast friends. He regaled her with tales of Lois at the Daily Planet while she gave him tidbits about her and Lois as children. They were multiple days where themselves so engrossed with just talking with each other that they forgot to each their lunches, much to the annoyance of the officer in charge of the mess. Before Lucy knew it, she was nursing a not-so small crush for James.

 _When are you up for R &R?_ He asked one day.

_Three weeks. When is Perry swapping you out?_

_Same time._ A thoughtful look. _You should come with me, to Metropolis, I mean._

 _To see Lois?_ It was flat and uncertain.

_No, there’s this law library that I thought you’d be interested, one of the largest in the world--_

She narrowed her eyes. _Are you asking me out on a date?_

 _Um, yes?_ She had to bite back a laugh at his expression.

She nodded. _Then, yes, I’ll go with you._ She took a bite of her eggs. _Next time, though, just open with that._

They left Afghanistan together. James had been right, she loved the library. They ended up spending the entire day there before Lucy remembered that James had dinner reservations for the both of them. One date turned into two, then three. By the time Lucy had to return to Afghanistan, sans James, she had gone on more dates with him than she had anyone else in the last ten years. Before she left, James showed her a key.

Lucy panicked. _I’m bi_ , she blurted out. A sense of relief followed by a choking fear.

He blinked. Then, he smiled and held out the key anyway. _So am I_. She could breathe again. He pressed the key into her hand. _No pressure with this, I just figured you might want a place to stay when you come back._

She slipped the key onto the chain holding the St. Christopher medal and kissed him. It was an impulsive decision on her part, much like what had driven Marie to kiss her on Christmas Eve a decade ago, but she couldn’t find it in herself to regret it.

See you in a few months. Then she was gone. For the rest of her tour in Afghanistan, the key and medal hung from her neck.

 _Who’s this?_ James asked, holding up the photo of Marie he had pulled from one of Lucy’s many boxes.

 _That’s Marie._ She smiled sadly. _I loved her. She died when the towers came down._

James gently placed the photo on the dresser and kissed his girlfriend.

The next two years for Lucy were better than any she had had before. Things changed when Superman started to make more and more public appearances. Soon, James was paying more attention to Superman than he was to her, leaving her feeling sidelined. Before she could say anything to James, a call came down from branch: West Point needed a JAG officer to teach constitutional law and her name had come up.

_There’s a position at West Point that just opened up. I’m thinking about taking it._

_You should._

James didn’t bother to fight her. He knew she was unhappy. He had seen the writing on the wall just like she had.

Her things were out of the flat before the week was up. She was gone a day later.

Returning to West Point was daunting. She walked past the barracks that held her old room and glanced up to see a curious new cadet looking through the window. For a second, Lucy saw herself staring out that same window, watching as MPs escorted Kate Kane out of the Academy. A second later and the cadet was gone. Lucy could breathe again.

 _You have anyone at home, ma’am?_ one of the cadets in her constitutional law class asked her one evening. It was her last class of the day.

_Not anymore._

_But you used to._

_Yes._

_A boyfriend?_ A female cadet asked.

_We wanted different things._

_What about a girlfriend?_ A brave cadet spoke up.

The room went silent. No one dared to move. Lucy looked up from her papers.

 _Once, a long time ago._ Eyes went wide. _Now turn to page 175._

And that was the end of that discussion.

Later, once class was over and everyone was leaving for dinner, it was Lucy’s turn to ask. _What’s her name?_ It was quiet.

_Pardon?_

_The girl you’re sweet on._

The brave cadet tensed. Then, _Rebecca_.

Lucy nodded. _She know?_

_No._

_You should tell her, when you get the chance._

_Yes, ma’am._ A curious look. _When did you tell your girlfriend?_

_I didn’t. The towers collapsed before I could._

Word about Lucy spread quickly. She caught cadets whispering and picked up her own name on more than one occasion. At first, it frightened her. DADT was gone, but her memories as a cadet were still around. Then she walked into class and was met with looks of awe and respect. She nodded.

_We’ll be starting today with a discussion on the Fifth Amendment and its roots and applications. You all should’ve done the reading last night, but I’m feeling generous this morning, so you’ll have five minutes to prepare. Go._

Her cadets scrambled. Her fear was gone. In its place was determination.

Lucy was in her second year of teaching at West Point when her father made an appearance. She was in the middle of her advanced military ethics course when the commandant stepped in.

_Major Lane, General Lane is here. He’s asking for you._

Lucy’s stomach dropped, but she kept her face expressionless. She fixed her class with a look.

_We’ll finish this discussion on Thursday. By that time, I want a minimum of three pages on the paradoxes present within the military creed and its relation to utilitarianism. Dismissed._

The walk to the commandant’s office was agonising. It made Lucy feel like a cadet again. She clenched her fists tightly, a move that went unseen by him. She hadn’t spoken to her father in years. The only contact she had had with him was the obligatory Christmas cards that she and Lois sent him. He never sent one back.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the door to the commandant’s office. Her heart was in her throat. Was this how Kate had felt all those years ago when they had dismissed her from the Academy?

The door opened. She was ushered inside. Sam Lane stood by the desk, stone faced.

 _Lucy_.

She fired off a sharp salute that, once upon a time, would have made his lips twitch with approval. _Sir_.

He returned it lazily as the commandant left them alone.

_I’m pleased to see how far you’ve come._

Because I’m your daughter or because I’m bi? She wanted to ask, but held her tongue.

He handed her a file. _You’ve been selected by the president for an assignment. Top secret._

Operation: RED TORNADO stared her back in the face.

 _We’ll be working together again, like the good old days._ Were Sam Lane anyone else, Lucy would have decked them. He moved to leave. _Just, keep that bisexual nonsense out of the duty space._

 _Of course, sir,_ she lied through her teeth. She had no intention of hiding, not from him or anyone else. Not any more.

 _Good_.

National City was different from West Point. It was loud, full of life even at night, and most importantly of all, it was warm. She met Supergirl and for the first ten minutes, wasn’t at all impressed by the walking, talking ball of sunshine. Then Supergirl completely obliterated the android, starting off a chain of events that led to her earning Lucy’s respect. The person who really caught her attention, though, was Supergirl’s handler.

Sitting across from Agent Alex Danvers during interrogation reminded Lucy of herself, before she met Marie. Danvers had no-nonsense attitude, more committed to her work than was probably healthy, and probably as closeted as Lucy had been. Unfortunately for Alex, the similarities she unknowingly shared with Lucy let Lucy read her like an open book. Alex could easily fool a polygraph; she couldn’t fool Lucy.

It pained Lucy to watch them drag Alex away in chains, but she had her orders. And with her father breathing down her neck, there wasn’t much she could do aside from pointedly ignore the DEO’s tech specialist deliberately circumvent orders. She went home, unpacked the box with Marie’s picture, placed it on her dresser, drank down a $300 bottle of scotch, and hated herself.

A nudge from Kara and her revelation that she was Supergirl made Lucy’s conscience rear its ugly head. A few days later, she found herself on a motorcycle alongside the Kryptonian as they raced to break Alex out from Harper’s custody. It was exhilarating. It gave her a rush she hadn’t felt since Afghanistan. The look in Alex’s eyes when they got her out of the back of the truck made Lucy’s stomach flip. Then Alex was gone.

Lucy knew a crush when she felt it. She pushed it down in favour of trying to fix things with James. It almost worked until Myriad came online. The last thing she remembered before the wave hit National City was Alex’s number appearing on her phone. When she came to, she saw a distraught Alex begging Kara to come back. She nearly had a heart attack seconds later as Alex bolted to the hangar and flew off into space. The relief she felt when Alex safely returned with Kara was beyond description.

A few hours later and Lucy was stood in Kara’s apartment, watching the two sisters interact. She hid a smile behind her beer.

 _Does she know?_ James asked her quietly, without fanfare.

_Nope._

_You should tell her._

_I will, when the time’s right._

_When’s that going to be?_

_When she’s ready to hear it._

Alex was ready to hear it six months later. Lucy walked into a small dive bar where the Superfriends were gathered and froze when she saw Alex and her girlfriend. She had never seen Alex so carefree or happy. It was such a beautiful sight. Then, Alex’s girlfriend turned and Lucy stopped breathing. She felt her jaw unhinge slightly and her eyes widen as she took in her in. She immediately reminded Lucy of Marie. Seeing her interact with Alex made Lucy’s heart ache. Still, Lucy approached like nothing was wrong. The joy in Alex’s eyes when she realised that Lucy had arrived made it worth it.

_Glad to see you’re finally out, Danvers._

_You knew?!_

_Of course I did. We queers signal to each other, even while in the closet._

Everyone, save for James, Maggie, and J’onn froze.

_You’re…_

_Bi._ There was no hesitation. Saying out loud had gotten easier over the years. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Maggie nod.

Winn dragged Alex over to the pool table before anyone could say anything else. Lucy flagged down the bartender for a glass of scotch while Maggie glued herself to Lucy’s side.

 _How long?_ It was soft.

 _Long enough._ Lucy swirled the contents of her glass. _I’m glad to see you come around, Sawyer. I had half a mind to kick your ass when news hit the Desert Base that you fucked with Alex like that._

 _I’m glad I came around too._ Lucy could feel the burn of Maggie’s gaze on her as she kept her own her eyes on Alex and Winn at the pool table. _You love her._

 _I do._ She did, like she loved Marie. And just like she had with Marie, she missed her chance with Alex.

_You should tell her._

_You’re the one dating her._

_She needs to know. Besides, something tells me she has some idea, she’s just waiting for you to say it._

_You’re. Dating. Her._ Lucy’s face burned with anger and shame. She half an idea to toss the contents of her glass in Maggie’s face for daring to suggest that Alex would be unfaithful.

 _I have a big heart._ Lucy’s anger cooled in an instant. She had been around long enough to know when to read between the lines. _Talk to her._

And so, Lucy did. She pulled Alex aside, spilled her secrets, and, just like Marie had done a lifetime ago, walked away before Alex could say anything. Lucy went home, crawled into bed, and hated herself.

Two nights later, a knock at her door interrupted her attempts to polish off another bottle of scotch. She opened it and was taken aback to see Alex standing in front of her. She looked as exhausted as Lucy felt.

 _Maggie and I talked._ Lucy said nothing. _Did you mean it?_

 _Yes_.

Alex nodded. She surged forward before Lucy knew what was happening. She found Alex’s arms around her shoulders and a blistering kiss placed upon her lips. Lucy stumbled back and caught herself on the kitchen island. Alex was the one to break the kiss, chest heaving.

_You...you can’t just say something like that and walk away, Lane._

_I know._ She had learned the hard way that walking away only increased heartbreak.

_The three us, I think we should sit down and talk about this._

_We should._ The only way it would work is if they took the time to sit and talk.

_Saturday work?_

Lucy kissed her. _It sounds perfect._

Things weren’t perfect. At least, not at first. The reappearance and subsequent betrayal of Jeremiah Danvers sent Alex into a tailspin that resulted in her being benched. She lashed out at Maggie and Lucy before going rogue. Maggie and Lucy had a collective heart attack when Alex announced she was on the freighter on the verge of jumping 20 light years away from Earth. Once Alex’s were boots were safely back on terra firma, Lucy pulled her into a hug and kissed her, then shot her in the shoulder.

_What the fuck?_

_Sub-dermal tracker, asshole._ She cut Maggie’s laughter off with a fierce glare that had terrified many a cadet during her tenure as a professor. _You’re getting one too, Sawyer._

_What? Why?_

_Because you two are going to be the death of me without one, and I’m not losing either of you if I can help it._ She moved her glare to Alex. _We’re going to talk about this, all of this._

An equally abashed Maggie and Alex agreed. They sat down and talked. Alex reluctantly acquiesced to several sessions with Henderson while Lucy worked to get Maggie clearance at the DEO. Things started to settle down. Before Lucy knew it, she was starting to relax. It proved to be a mistake.

The next thing she knew, Alex was missing and they were racing against the clock to get her back. She found herself standing in the interrogation room. She stared Rick down as the desire to murder the man in front of her slowly built in her chest.

_You know, you really shouldn’t waste your time talking to me. You should be focused on Alex._

_Don’t listen to him! Don’t you dare negotiate with him!_

The sound of rushing water and Alex’s voice through the tinny speakers of the DEO issued laptop made Lucy want to vomit. Still, she remained silent. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of garnering a reaction from her.

_After all, it would be such a shame for her to end up like your poor Marie._

Lucy’s hand was around his throat the second Marie’s name left his lips.

 _You don’t get to say her name._ He choked and spluttered as her grip tightened. Kara and Maggie rushed to pull her away. He coughed and smiled. If Kara wasn’t holding her back, Lucy would have punched him.

_Tick tock, Director Lane._

She walked out. Maggie was right on her heels, laptop firmly in hand.

 _You need to hold on Alex, we’re coming for you._ The pain and desperation of Maggie’s voice made Lucy feel like she was being stabbed.

_Please just listen, okay? I need the two of you--_

Lucy couldn’t listen any longer. _Don’t you dare start talking like this is the end, Danvers._ She refused to accept that it was.

You’re a badass _Danvers, you hear me? A badass! And you’re going to hold on until we get there._ Lucy pretended not to notice how Maggie’s voice caught in her throat. _Okay? Because we just started this, the three of us, hell we just had our first Valentine’s day and I want more firsts._

 _So do I._ Lucy wanted all the firsts. _First vacation, first fight--_

 _Or what do name our first dog_. Maggie glanced at Lucy. _Do you want a dog?_

Lucy watched as Alex bit her lip in the way that always made her want to kiss her. _Yeah…let’s name her Gertrude._ If Alex hadn’t been in the danger that she was, Lucy would have rolled her eyes.

 _That’s a joke, right, Danvers?_ With a name like that, their dog would get made fun of at the dog park and have all of its biscuits stolen

_See, there’s a lifetime of firsts that we’re gonna do together. So hold on, okay? Hold on until we get to you. You promise. Promise me!_

The screen cut out before Alex could answer. Lucy felt her heart drop through the floor just as Maggie smashed the laptop to pieces.

Kara rushed out at the noise and was met with a furious Maggie.

_I told you to wait and now you’ve made things worse!_

_I did what I thought was right!_

_And you were wrong_ , Lucy butt in before her girlfriend and Kara could come to blows.

_I’m her sister!_

_And you think that trumps us? You think that you know what’s right for her?_ Lucy was furious. She gripped Maggie’s hand tightly to ground herself against the memories flashing before her.

 _We just got her to be herself, Kara! We have just as much to lose as you do!_ Maggie’s sobs tore at Lucy’s heart. She could see the understanding finally dawn on Kara. _You should have listen to me._

Maggie was gone before Lucy or Kara could say a word. Lucy’s jaw clenched.

_I’m sorry._

_I know. But you need to stand down now and let us do our jobs, like we could have from the beginning._

Lucy turned on her heel and marched to command center. She stopped halfway when she realised her pocket was considerably lighter. Her badge and Alex’s gun were missing and she had a good idea where they had gone. She entered the command center.

_Find Detective Sawyer. Now._

It was two hours before they found Maggie. By that point, she had carved a path of destruction through National City’s federal prison. Lucy was just grateful that Alex’s gun had a stun feature, otherwise keeping Maggie out of prison was going to prove impossible even for her. When Kara announced that she had Maggie and was en route to Alex’s location, Lucy traded glances with J’onn. Moments later, to her complete terror, they were airborne.

They arrived just as Kara broke through the container holding Alex. Water soaked through Lucy’s boots but she didn’t care. Alex wasn’t moving. She was by Alex’s side one second and starting CPR the next as Maggie begged Alex to wake up.

Lucy’s arms burned as she furiously pumped Alex’s chest. She hadn’t been there when Marie died. She couldn’t stop the towers from tumbling down. But she was here now. This time, she could stop it.

Alex coughed and sputtered and rolled over as water was pushed from her lungs. It was the most wonderful sound Lucy had ever heard. She slumped back on her heels as Maggie gathered Alex up in her jacket.

_I held on._

_You did._

Later, when they were back in the DEO medbay, Lucy mulled over the what ifs. What if Kara had been just a second later? What if Alex hadn’t been Alex? What if what if what--Maggie’s thumb brushed against her face, stopping her spiralling thoughts cold.

_We got her back._

Lucy looked at Alex as her chest rose and fell while she slept. She took Maggie’s hand in hers. _We did._

It was only when Alex opened her eyes did Lucy truly begin to relax. The three of them exchanged I love yous short thereafter. Lucy smiled, brushed her lips against Alex’s knuckles, and for the first time since Marie had died, was at peace.

-

One month later

“Hey, Luce, who’s this?” Alex asked, holding up a picture frame she had pulled from one of Lucy’s many boxes.

The three of them had vacated Alex’s flat after a DEO clean up team found countless cameras and microphones placed by Rick. From what they could gather, he had been studying them for months. Upon receiving that unsettling news, they moved across the city to a new flat. Now they were finally unpacking.

“Hm?” Lucy looked up from a box she was unpacking. She recognised who Alex was asking about in a heartbeat. “Oh, that’s Marie.”

Maggie glanced at it and whistled. “She’s pretty hot, Lane.” She grinned at Lucy. “Should we be jealous?” she joked.

“She’s dead.” Maggie’s grin faded instantly. “She died when the towers collapsed during 9/11.”

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” Maggie apologised.

Lucy shrugged. “It’s fine,” she said. “I’ve made my peace with it.”

Something in her tone told Maggie and Alex there was more to Marie than Lucy was letting on. They exchanged glances, looked at Lucy and understood.

“You loved her,” Maggie murmured.

Lucy smiled sadly. “I did.”

Alex walked over to Lucy, picture of Marie still in hand. She sat down next to her. “Can you tell us about her?”

The question threw Lucy. No one had ever asked about Marie before, not even James. She nodded.

“Sure.” She settled against the couch and waited for Maggie and Alex to cuddle up against her before she began. “We met when in August of 2000 while I back stateside on extended leave pending reassignment. She was everything I wasn’t: out and proud while I was still so deep in the closet I swore I could see Narnia sometimes…”


	4. Flowers - Director Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy catches up with a ghost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slight continuation of the previous chapter.

_Six rows back._ Lucy turned left. _Fourteen in._ Snow crunched under her boots as she walked through the graveyard. In her hands was a bouquet of blue hyacinths. They had been Marie’s favourite, once upon a time.

She stopped in front of a snow-covered headstone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alex and Maggie stop as well. They kept their distance, though, in order to give her some privacy; they knew just how personal this was for her.

Lucy knelt down on one knee. She gently brushed the snow away to reveal the inscription:

_Marie Alexander_

_August 20, 1976 - September 11, 2001_

_I refuse to hide. I refuse to be ashamed. I choose, instead, to exercise my right to love. God knows the world needs a little more of it._

She knew the epitaph by heart now. But even after all these years, it still made a lump form in her throat.

Lucy placed the bouquet at the foot of Marie’s grave with a careful reverence. She closed her eyes and exhaled. A cloud formed and hung in front of her face as her breath met the cold New York winter air. She bowed her head.

“Hey, Marie, it’s Lucy. Sorry that it’s taken me so long to come and visit.” She licked her lips. “Things have been...hectic the past year or so.” That was putting it mildly. Two near-world ending events within the span of a year meant that Lucy, as one of the DEO’s Directors, was burning the candle at both ends trying to get things back to normal.

“Let’s see...stopped the world from getting destroyed. Again. That was fun.” She let out a small breath. “I, uh, I met someone. Well, more than one someone, two, actually. I’ve mentioned one of them before, you know, Alex?”

Lucy tilted her head back and released a small puff of air. “I’m dating Alex. And her girlfriend Maggie. I’m dating both of them.” She let her head drop back down and opened her eyes. Marie’s name stared back at her. She reached out and traced the words.

“I think what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m in love. That I love them.” _Like I loved you._ She smiled sadly. “And they know, that I love them, I mean. Because…”

Lucy glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Maggie and Alex huddled together as they waited for her. “Maggie and I...we almost lost Alex and it put things into perspective, so I told them. I…I couldn’t live with myself not letting them know that I loved them before something happened to them. Not again.” As much as she liked to think that Marie died knowing that Lucy loved her, she would never know for sure.

“You’d like them, Marie.” Lucy let a smile tug at her lips. “If you thought that I was reckless when I was younger, though, then they would give you a run for your money.”  She let out a shuddering breath.

“I just wish you were here to meet them.” Even if things hadn’t gone the way they did and she and Marie ended up dating, only to end the relationship later, Lucy had no doubt that Marie would be staring Alex and Maggie down. After all, before the kiss they shared on Christmas Eve all those years ago, Marie always joked about vetting Lucy’s potential love interests

 _You need someone to make sure you’re not going out with a serial killer, Luce,_ she would say.

 _And you’re that someone?_ Lucy always challenged, a smile on her face.

 _Yep._ Marie would pop the p and grin.

Lucy sighed. She pushed herself back on to her feet, biting back a groan as her knees reminded her of their existence.

“Anyway, I’ll try not to take another year and a half to come and visit again,” she said. “Maybe next time, Alex and Maggie’ll come say hi instead of standing off to the side.” She lowered her voice so that they wouldn’t hear her. “Between you and me though, I have a feeling that Alex might drop by sometime later this week to say hi. She’s going to be awkward, but bear with her. She’s very new to all of this.”

She looked at Marie’s headstone one last time before making her way over to where Alex and Maggie were standing.

“Ready?” Maggie asked. She held out her hand.

Lucy took it. “Ready.” She wrapped free arm around Alex’s waist and pulled her close. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Alex kissed the side of Lucy’s head. “Love you, Luce.”

Lucy smiled. “Love you too.”


	5. Coffee Shop - Lucy/Marie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lucy met Marie: a prequel to Closet.

The next time someone recommended that she take a Space-A flight across the Atlantic, Lucy was going to shoot them. She had spent the better part of a 10 hour flight getting tossed around alongside screaming civilians because an Army pilot decided that flying through extreme turbulence was a good idea. She was tired and in desperate need of coffee before she made the six hour drive to Fort Drum. 

Someone slammed into her, knocking her to the ground and on to her arse. Her quadruple shot red eye splashed against her BDUs.

And now she was angry. 

She looked up, a scathing remark on her tongue. It promptly died when her eyes registered what was in front of her. An extremely attractive brunette stood over her, eyes wide with horror.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” The brunette apologised. She reached out to help Lucy up. “Are you alright?

Lucy took her hand dumbly. “I’m fine,” she said. She swallowed unconsciously as she took in the other woman’s physique. 

“I’m sorry about the coffee,” she said, pulling Lucy to her feet.

“It’s fine.” Even if she was now facing a six hour drive without coffee, Lucy couldn’t find it in herself to be angry with the woman.  _ God her jaw looks like it was carved by DaVinci.  _ “I’ll just grab another one.”

“Let me get it for you,” she offered.

Lucy shook her head. “You don’t have to.” A pretty girl buying her a cup of coffee was just asking for trouble.

The woman was insistent. “I want to,” she said. “It’s the least I can do, considering you look like you really needed that coffee.” Lucy raised an eyebrow that sent her sputtering. “That’s not me saying you look terrible! You just look really tired! I mean, aside from that you look great!”

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up. “Well,” she interrupted, cutting her off. “If you insist.”

She nodded. She stepped around Lucy and opened the door to the coffee shop. “Shall we?”

They walked in together. Lucy tried not to think about the distance, or lack thereof, between them. 

“What’s your order?” The brunette asked.

“Red eye with a quadruple shot,” Lucy said. 

The brunette’s eyebrows rose, but other than that there was no reaction. “One red eye with a quadruple shot coming right up.”

While she headed towards the counter to place the order, Lucy walked over to the pick up area and leaned against one of the beams. She folded her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she observed the woman. She admired her pixie cut and the way that her leather jacket framed her body. She licked her lips.  _ She’s attractive _ . She quickly glanced around to see if there was anyone else in uniform or wearing a high and tight around her. She wasn’t out, and the last thing she needed was someone to notice just how much of a mess she was for an attractive woman. It would lead to questions that she couldn’t afford to have asked. Thankfully, Lucy saw no one else who looked military. She slightly relaxed.

“I didn’t catch your name.” Her voice broke Lucy from her thoughts. “So the orders are under Marie, my name.”

“Well, for future references, I’m Lucy,” Lucy said before she could stop herself.

Marie quirked an eyebrow at her. “Future, huh? You planning on making a habit of running into me, Lucy?” She teased.

Lucy felt her stomach flip and then twist at the question. She hid her anxiety with a scoff. “Please, I’m more worried about you running into me again.”

Marie’s retort was cut short by a barista calling her name. “Be right back,” she told Lucy before hurrying towards the counter.

Lucy watched as Marie gathered two cups and chatted briefly with the barista before heading back in her direction.

“One red eye with a worrying amount of caffeine for you,” Marie said, handing Lucy the cup. “And an Americano for me.”

Lucy nodded. “Thanks,” she said. She took a sip. Her eyebrows rose. “Did you add…?”

“A splash of cream and two sugars?” Marie guessed from around her own coffee. “Yep.”

“How did you know?”

She shrugged. “I’ve got a good eye,” she said. Lucy felt like there was something under that statement, but she decided not to unpack it. For the sake of her sanity, she couldn’t. “You looked like the kind of person who likes things sweet.”

It took all of Lucy’s training not to choke on her coffee. She ended up swallowing a large mouthful instead. Her eyes watered as the hot liquid burned at her throat.

“Well, you were right,” she squeaked out.

Marie smiled, her dimples in full force. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the shrill shriek of her pager. She pulled it from her belt to check it and cursed. 

“Doctor?” Lucy guessed.

“EMT,” she corrected. “I’m on standby, or at least I was. I have to go.” She glanced at Lucy. “It was really great running into you, Lucy, aside from me spilling coffee all over you. Maybe we’ll do this again sometime, if we see each other again.”

She was gone and out the door before Lucy could say anything.

Lucy stood frozen at the pillar.  _ Do this again, and if?  _ What exactly had Marie meant by that? Did she know something that Lucy didn’t? 

She brought her cup to her lips in the hope that the bitter taste of espresso would chase away her thoughts. Before it touched, something caught her eye. She held it away from her face. Her eyes widened.

_ Marie, 212-XXX-XXXX. _

Lucy glanced towards the door that Marie had run out of, then back to the phone number. She tried to not hyperventilate. 

_ She was just being friendly.  _ Lucy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She nodded.  _ Friendly. _ People who wanted friends wrote down their phone numbers for others all the time.

She took another sip of her coffee and moved to leave. She couldn’t get Marie’s dimples out of her head.

-

_ Two weeks later _

_ “Alexander.” _

Lucy blinked. The voice sounded right, but she had to be sure. “This is Lieutenant Lucy Lane, I’m looking to speak with Marie?”

_ “Lieutenant Lucy...? Oh, Lucy, hey! It’s good to hear from you!” _

Lucy nodded, even though Marie couldn’t see her. 

_ “You calling to say hi or did you need something?” _

Lucy cleared her throat. “Actually, I figured I owed you for last time and wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee next weekend, Saturday if that works for you.”

_ “Works perfectly, actually, since I’m off that Saturday.” _

“Okay, great.”

_ “See you next weekend, then.” _

_ “ _ See you.” Lucy hung up without another word. She sighed.

_ Friends. Just friends, Lane.  _


	6. Coffee Shop, version 2 - Lucy/Marie (Marcy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date that Lucy and Marie should've had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of an AU of Closet where Marie survived 9/11. I have a few more fics planned for later this month using this AU. Enjoy.

Lucy’s fingers drummed anxiously against the top of the table. She stared at the door to the coffee shop. Two weeks ago, planes hit the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Upon seeing the news, Lucy immediately called back to the states to check up on her. There had been no answer, something that greatly troubled her. She knew that, as an EMT, Marie would have undoubtedly rushed into the frey the moment calls for help went out. That knowledge didn’t ease her worry.

Because of how serious the situation was, the need for a communications network was paramount. Unfortunately, the one the military had in place just wasn’t capable of handling the surge in communications. Thus, all available Signal officers were recalled to the states to change that. It turned out to be Lucy’s early ticket home, allowing her to arrive a few days earlier than she had anticipated.

The moment her boots touched American soil, Lucy was frantically checking the rosters listing the missing and the dead. To her relief, Marie’s name was on neither. However, that relief was quickly quashed with each unanswered phone call. After fourteen messages left on Marie’s answering machine, Lucy found it full. She took to walking through the numerous makeshift memorials through the city each night to try and see if she get any information about Marie’s wareabouts. 

Which was how she found herself sitting in the coffee shop where she and Marie had met a little over a year ago. Nine months ago, they had made plans for an actual date to unpack the feelings between them. It was a day that Lucy had looked forward to for months. Now, with Marie unaccounted for, all she felt was dread. 

The door chimed. Lucy looked up eagerly, only to deflate. It wasn’t Marie. 

She lowered her head and pressed her fingers against her temples.  _ Just breathe, Lane. Maybe she forgot. It’s perfectly reasonable, considering everything that’s going on.  _

Lucy started to relax. Then the snarky half of her brain kicked in.  _ Or maybe she’s dead and no one realises it yet.  _ Her stomach twisted at the thought. Her knee started to bounce as her anxiety rose.  _ Stupid stupid stupid stu-- _

“Lucy?”

Lucy froze.  _ I know that voice.  _ She looked up and felt her heart stop.

“Marie.”

Marie smiled tiredly. “Hey.” She gave a small wave. 

Lucy was on her feet so fast the chair screeched. She pulled Marie into a tight hug. “Oh, thank god,” she murmured. She pulled away. “I tried calling but I couldn’t get through, and then I checked the rosters once I got back and I didn’t see your name but--”

Marie interrupted her panicked rambling. “Luce, hey, breathe, sweetheart.” She brushed a hand against Lucy’s face. “Look at me, I’m okay. Tired as fuck, but I’m okay.”

“I tried to call,” Lucy said again.

“I know, I got your messages,” Marie said. At Lucy’s questioning eyebrow, Marie’s cheeks turned pink. “I listened to all of them before I came here,” she explained. “I kind of had to. Up until about an hour ago, I hadn’t been home since the planes hit. I’ve been working 16 hour shifts trying to get people out.”

That much was obvious to Lucy. The shadows under Marie’s eyes were so dark, they resembled bruises. If she didn’t know better, she would say that Marie had gone ten rounds with a heavyweight prize fighter and lost. Badly. 

Lucy reached and ran a thumb under Marie’s left eye. “How much sleep have you gotten since the attack?” Something told her that the answer wasn’t going to be good.

“Not much,” Marie admitted. “FDNY’s been nice enough to let us crash at their stations between shifts, but…there’s just so much work to be done, Lucy. So many people. And you know me, I can’t…” She ran a hand through her damp hair and sighed. “I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”

Lucy nodded. “I know.” It was one of the things she loved most about Marie. She decided to chance the topic. “How long are you free for?”

Marie glanced at the Casio watch Lucy had gotten her for her birthday. “Six hours,” she said.

Lucy’s eyebrows rose in surprise. That was more than she expected. Though, if she was being honest with herself, she hadn’t originally expected to even get time with Marie today. 

“What about you?” Marie asked, quirking an eyebrow at Lucy.

“I have the day.” Seeing Marie’s surprised look, she continued. “Branch has us working in shifts. I just came off a 19 hour one about…” Lucy looked at her own watch. “Five hours ago.” She had arrived back to her assigned BOQ and face planted into her mattress just as her roommate was leaving. She slept for about three hours before waking up to change and leave for the coffee shop.

“Five hours...are you telling me you worked from noon yesterday until six this morning and you still came?” Marie asked, incredulous. 

Lucy shrugged. “I had to.”  _ I needed to make sure you were still alive.  _

Marie’s expression softened. “Lucy…” She shook her head. “What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up?”

“Bought lunch, go back to the barracks, cry in the shower for a bit then go back to work,” was Lucy’s immediate response. Aside from the crying in the shower part, it was a coping strategy that her father would have been proud of. 

“That’s not healthy.”

“Probably not,” Lucy said. “But we won’t know now because you showed up.”

Marie grinned. “I did.” She rushed to make it in time. She had been sent home by her Captain and told to “sleep in a real bed for more than four hours, Alexander” because she had pulled more shifts than anyone in the company. When she arrived, she found her answering machine blinking with fourteen messages from Lucy. She listened to all of them, savouring the sound of Lucy’s voice, before jumping in the shower to scrub down. 

Lucy opened her mouth to say something, but found it cut short by Marie’s yawn.

Marie blushed. “Sorry,” she apologised. 

“Don’t be,” Lucy told her. A thoughtful look crossed her face. She glanced around the coffee shop. “I know that we said we’d have our date here, but what if we went back to your apartment instead?”

Marie blanched. “Luce, I’m not sure if that--”

“Just to sleep,” Lucy interrupted. “Honest.” She could feel her cheeks heating up. “I’m not ready for that yet.” Neither of them were. Both of them were running on fumes and they still had to unpack the Christmas Eve kiss. 

Marie laced her fingers with Lucy’s. “Then that sounds perfect.” She smiled. Lucy held back on her urge to kiss her. She settled for squeezing her hand instead.

-

Lucy sighed the second her back hit the mattress. She let her eyes slip shut, only to open them moments later when she felt the bed dip next to her. She turned her head and smiled. Marie had changed into a pair of plaid boxers and a t-shirt. Lucy put her arm out and tugged Marie close.

Marie placed her head on Lucy’s chest. “I missed this,” she said. She had gotten used to sharing a bed with Lucy on a regular basis whenever she drove down from Fort Drum. After she left for Germany, Marie had found it hard to sleep without her.

“So did I.” Lucy craned her neck so she could look down at Marie. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Marie yawned and snuggled closer to Lucy. “So m’ch…”

Lucy felt Marie’s breath even out. She bit her lip and glanced at the ceiling. Then, she looked back down and placed a kiss against Marie’s forehead. She gently ran her free hand through Marie’s hair, enjoying the way it felt against her skin. Suddenly, she found herself having to blink back tears. She had come so close to never being able to do this again. To never seeing Marie again.

“I love you, Marie” she murmured. “I’m sorry it took me so long to admit it.” She knew that they still had to talk about Christmas Eve before she could say it again. Right now, though, saying it out loud even though Marie wasn’t awake to hear it brought a sense of relief that she hadn’t felt in years.

Lucy’s eyes slipped shut moments later. Unbeknownst to her, Marie wasn’t actually asleep. She had heard what Lucy said. 

She placed her hand over Lucy’s heart. She felt the steady thrum of it against her palm and smiled. 

“I love you too,” she whispered before joining Lucy in sleep.


	7. Shadows - Sanvers, feat. Gertrude the Hellhound Service Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alex kinda sorta has superpowers.

_ Just another routine bust,  _ Rodriguez had said. The moment he did, Maggie wanted to punch him, partner or not. Her time in Gotham had taught her that those were the four magic words to turn any operation to shit. 

And go to shit it had. She and Rodriguez had been made the moment they stepped foot into the warehouse. Rodriguez went down two steps in. She had lasted a little longer, managing to take out three Greerian grunts before a rifle but to the back of the skull stopped her cold. 

When she came to, she was hanging from the ceiling by her wrists. She spent the next few hours mouthing off to a group of very angry drug smugglers and received more than a few punches to the face and gut for her troubles. Frustrated with her lack of cooperation, they decided leave her hanging while they worked to figure out what they would do next. 

Which led to her current situation: aching shoulders and wrists that were on fire. Her left eye was swollen shut and she was pretty sure she had at least one cracked rib. To top it all off, her head was killing her.

The sound of nails against polished concrete reached her hears.

_ I must’ve been hit harder than I thought.  _ Maggie shook her head to clear it. In hindsight, it was probably a bad move considering the head trauma she had.

A second later, a cloud of smoke entered her limited field of vision. She recognised it for what it was immediately.

“Gert?” she rasped out.

A wide canine grin and a literal tongue of fire appeared in response. 

Maggie’s mind raced. If Gertrude was here, it meant that Alex wasn’t far behind. Before Maggie could ask where Alex was, there was a clang.

_ Shit.  _ They were back.

A gust of wind rushed past Maggie. Everything became muted. She craned her head upwards and saw small wisps of smoke. Understanding dawned on her: Gertrude was doing to Maggie what she normally did for Alex when she had her migraines. 

She looked back down just in time to see a Greerian guard stop in front of her. In his hands was a knife, a very sharp knife that, if she remembered correctly, was made of a metal that was extremely poisonous to humans. She swallowed.

“Heh, so you recognise this, do you?” He raised it up to the light. “It’s great. Makes your kind talk pretty quickly. Also makes them die pretty fast too.” He gave her a grin that was all teeth. “I wonder how much information we’ll get out of you before you croak.”

“She won’t give you anything,” a smooth voice said.

He spun around, blade raised. He never got the chance to use it. A hand slammed into his throat, making him gag. A second later found his arm in an armbar before a sickening pop told Maggie that his shoulder had been dislocated. It was followed by a wet squilsh. Then, he fell to the ground, dead.

Maggie blinked her good eye to see Alex stepping out of the shadows. She quickly squeezed her eyes when Alex raised her gun.

There was a whine and then a shing. Maggie yelped when the chain gave way. She found herself in Alex’s arms before she could hit the ground. There was a small puff followed by a brief rush of wind as Gertrude left Maggie and shifted back to her normal form. She settled next to the two of them. 

“That…was badass, Danvers,” she coughed.

Alex kissed the side of her head. “Glad you think so,” she said. The sound of boots reached both of their ears. Alex glanced over her shoulder and then at Gertrude.

“ _ Ahvrigi rraop  _ Rodriguez, Gert,” she ordered. “ _ Chao fazhuri rraop.” _

Pressed against Alex as she was, Maggie felt the the rumbles Alex’s vocal cords made to get the pronunciation of the Kryptonese phrase correct through their connected bodies. It made her shiver.

Gertrude woofed once and was off as a streak of thick, black smoke. Screams started up moments later.

“Can you stand?” Alex asked over the sound of panicking Greerians. 

Maggie nodded, only to immediately regret the action. She grimaced as nausea swept through her. With Alex’s help, though, she was able to get onto her feet. She started to make her way for the door, only for Alex to move them towards the shadows.

“Uh, Alex, we need to get out of here,” she said.

“I know.” Alex tightened her grip around Maggie’s waist, drawing a small grunt of pain from her injured girlfriend. 

“Alex?”

“Don’t let go.”

Before Maggie could ask what she meant, darkness enveloped the both of them.  _ What?  _ There was a moment of deep silence. Then, they were gone.

-

Maggie had no idea how long it was before they met light again. All she knew was that it felt quick. The second they did, Maggie found herself and Alex standing in the corner of the DEO medbay. There was a moment of silence as everyone turned to face her and Alex and then Alex was on her knees retching into a trash can.

The medbay exploded into noise. 

Maggie couldn’t make heads or tails of what was being said as a medical team swarmed about her. A loud woof hit the air, signalling that Gertrude was back. There was a meaty thump that caused her to turn her head. She managed to make out the heavily battered form of her partner. To her relief, he was still breathing. She let her head loll to the side.

_ I’m going to kick his ass when he wakes up. _

She felt a small pinch in her arm. Then, nothing.

-

The first thing Maggie saw when she came was to, was Alex sitting by her bedside. She had a chart in her hands with a frown maring her forehead. 

“Isn’t that…supposed to be private information?” she croaked out.

“I have a medical degree and a license to practice,” Alex replied without looking up. Then it registered. She dropped the chart. “Maggie!”

Maggie grinned. “That happy to see me awake, are you?”

To her delight, Alex’s cheeks turned red. Instead of saying anything, she grabbed a pitcher of water and filled a cup before sticking a straw in it. She helped Maggie sit up so she could drink. It took a few gulps before Maggie was ready to say more. 

“So, the escape, how’d Gert get us out if she was getting Rodriguez?” she asked, curious. As far as she knew, Gertrude was only capable of transporting one person at a time like that.

To her surprise, Alex turned even redder at the question. “Uh, she didn’t,” Alex said. She pushed her hair behind her ear nervously. “It was me.”

Maggie blinked. “Are you saying you can teleport?” she asked.

“Technically, it’s shadow to shadow transportation,” Alex corrected immediately. “But, yeah.”

“How did I not know that?” They had been together almost a year now. Surely that would have come up at in conversation at some point.

Alex looked embarrassed. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”

Maggie gave her a look. “Babe, your sister shoots lasers from her eyes and can fly, and we both deal with aliens on a regular basis,” she said. “And I’ve worked in Gotham. Believe me, finding out that you can teleport is small fries compared to all of that.”

“The clingy shadow thing always seemed to make you nervous,” Alex said.

“Because I didn’t know if it was all in my head!” Maggie protested. Seeing shadows move around like little spiders from time to time tended to be a little disturbing, especially at night. She shuddered inwardly.

Maggie thumped her head back against the pillows. “My girlfriend has super powers,” she said. “Wow.” She glanced back at Alex. “Any other surprises for me?”

Alex had a mock thoughtful look cross her face. “How about…the fact that I love you?”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “That’s not a surprise, Danvers,” she said. “That’s just a fact of life.”

Alex grinned. She leaned forward and gently kissed Maggie. “Yeah, it is.”


	8. Drawing on Skin - The Directorship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world's nerdiest proposal.

Alex collapsed face first into the bed with a grunt. She had just spent the last three days at a research symposium, surrounded by scientist who were convinced that the more pretentious and elaborate their articles were, the better. It had led to her butting head with more than a few teams there and now, she was exhausted. 

“I take it the symposium didn’t go well?” She heard Lucy ask to her left. 

Alex turned her head to see Lucy sitting on her side of the bed, book in hand and readers resting on her nose. 

“Symposium went fine,” Alex grumbled. “There were just some idiots who honestly think it’s better to publish research in a manner so that only a select group of people can understand it, instead of just publishing it so that everyone else can understand it.”

Lucy knew by now that that was one of Alex’s biggest pet peeves when it came to research science. She made a sympathetic noise.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked, putting her book down.

“Not really.” Alex sighed. “I’m just tired, Luce, and my back’s killing me.”

Lucy clicked her tongue. “Probably because you’ve spent the last three days tense as a drum,” she said. “Am I right?”

Alex shrugged into the mattress. 

“Want a massage?”

“That would be wonderful.” Lucy’s massages were to die for. 

Lucy got up. “Alright, you know the drill, Danvers.”

Alex removed her shirt quickly. It took a few seconds, but then her shirt was off and she was back on her stomach. She felt Lucy straddle her lower back. The moment Lucy’s cold hands touched the skin of her back, she let out a groan.

“Oh, that feels great…”

Lucy hummed. She pressed her palms against Alex’s shoulders and whistled. “Damn, Danvers, no wonder your back hurts.” Alex was just one giant knot, from the feel of it.

Alex made to respond, but then Lucy dug a knuckle into her scapula and she yelped instead. She settled into the mattress and closed her eyes as Lucy went to work. After a while, she noticed that Lucy was starting to draw patterns against her back using her knuckle. She focused, amused.

_ A methyl group, sulfur, and a methylene bridge…  _ Methionine. So Lucy was drawing out amino acids on her back. That was interesting.

_ Single methyl group as the R group…  _ Alanine. 

_ Guanidino chain at the end…  _ Arginine. Alex felt the pattern repeat. Her brow furrowed. 

_ A hydroxyl group attached to an aromatic ring attached to the amino base with a methylene bridge…  _ Tyrosine.

Alex turned the shapes over in her head, trying to figure out what Lucy was saying.

_ Met-Ala-Arg-Arg-Tyr? _ That didn’t make any sense, it was one amino acid short of being two proteins. She ran it through her head again.

_ M-A-R-R-Y _

Alex stiffened.

_ Methyl group, sulfur, methylene bridge.  _ Another methionine.  _ M. _

Alex stopped breathing. She felt Lucy’s hand start to shake as she drew out the last amino acid.

_ Two carboxyl groups and amino group.  _ Glutamic acid.  _ E. _

_ M-E. _

Alex felt Lucy sit back. Her mind raced. Marry me. That’s what Lucy had drawn on her back, albeit with amino acids. Did Lucy know that? She pushed herself up and turned to look at Lucy and froze.

Lucy was holding a small black box with a ring nestled inside. It was relatively simple in design: a basic gold band with two small diamonds flanking a slightly larger one, but in Alex’s eyes, it was perfect.

“Lucy…?”

Lucy bit her lip. “Marry me?” she asked.

Alex surged forward and pressed her lips to Lucy’s in response. “Yes,” she said, breathless, once they broke apart. “Yes!”

Lucy grinned. She took the ring from the box and slid it on to Alex’s finger before kissing her again.

“I love you,” she murmured against Alex’s lips.

Alex smiled. “I love you too.” She examined the ring on her finger and glanced at Lucy. “I thought you hated chemistry.”

“Oh, I do,” Lucy said. “But I love the girl who likes it.”

Alex rolled her eyes goodnaturedly. “Sap,” she teased.

“Hey, you just agreed to marry this sap!” she protested, giving Alex a mock offended look.

Alex cuddled up against her and laced their fingers together. “Yeah, I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of week one. Thanks to everyone that's either commented, left a kudos, or both. I honestly wasn't expecting any of these fics to get the response that they have. Hope y'all continue to enjoy this!


	9. Stars - Supercorp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara loves the stars. Lena notices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a day late. I got caught up writing something else that ended up being so much longer than I intended it to be.

One thing Lena Luthor had noticed after she and Kara had started dating was the Kara loved the stars. Some nights, they would be laying in bed together and Lena would feel Kara gently tracing a constellation longner her back.

Tonight was one of those nights. 

Lena was laying on her stomach, pleasantly exhausted from the round of lovemaking she and Kara had undergone. Her eyes were shut when she felt Kara start tracing along her back. The touch sent tingles up her spine. 

It was a few minutes before Lena spoke up, having finally recognised the pattern being made.

“Are you drawing Andromeda on my back, darling?” She asked without opening her eyes.

She felt Kara’s hand stutter and fought back a smile.

“Maybe,” Kara eventually drew out. “It’s pretty fitting, if you ask me.”

“Oh?”

Lena felt the bed shift as Kara shrugged. “Beautiful woman with a mum that has some serious ego issues that gets saved by someone who can fly.” A kiss to her shoulder. “Sound familiar?”

“Perhaps,” she said coyly.

Kara hummed and continued to draw. After Andromeda, it was Serpens.

“Is that a jibe at me being a Luthor?” Lena asked dryly.

“No, it’s because you’re cunning. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Lena swallowed.

Then it was Leo.

“For Luthor,” Kara explained. “Or more for you, to be honest, because you’re so strong and brave and I’m always in awe of that.”

Lena had to fight back tears at how earnestly Kara had delivered that.

It was five more constellations before Lena spoke up again.

“Why the stars?” she asked.

Kara’s finger stopped. “What do you mean?”

Lena turned her head to look at Kara. “Why do you love the stars so much?”

Kara bit her lip. “I think it’s because I couldn’t see them on Krypton,” she said. 

Lena sat up, sheet falling around her waist. “I don’t understand, I thought Krypton had the technology--”

“It did,” Kara interrupted. “But by the time I was born, the pollution was so bad that it didn’t matter how good the technology was, you still couldn’t see past it.” 

She sighed and sat back, patting the area next to her. Lena crawled over and snuggled close, resting her head on Kara’s chest.

“The only way you could see the stars is if you went into space.” 

“Did you get to, see them when you lived on Krypton, I mean?” Lena asked, curious.

“A few times.” Kara shrugged. “The first time I saw them, I was with my father on a trip to Kandor for a science expedition. There were just so many, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Lena smiled at the image of a younger Kara staring out the window of a spaceship, staring out at the stars in awe.

“They were the last thing I saw before my pod hit the Phantom Zone. It was...such a contrast,” Kara said and gave a sad smile. “My planet and everyone on it had just died, but the stars, they just kept twinkling on in the distance like nothing was wrong.”

Lena felt her heart break. There was nothing worse than having the world keep turning in the face of one’s personal tragedy. But she couldn’t begin to imagine what Kara had felt after losing her whole world. 

She kissed Kara’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Kara pressed a kiss of her head. “Don’t be. I’ve made my peace with it.” 

Or some peace, at least. 

They fell into an easy silence. Kara ran her fingers through Lena’s hair. Lena thought about all the tragedy Kara had faced, about the burden of information she had to carry as the last daughter of Krypton.

“Will you tell me about it?” Lena asked after a while.

Kara glanced down. “About what?” she asked, confused. 

“The stars around Krypton. The astronomy. All of it.” Lena wanted to know, if only so that Kara wouldn’t be the only one. To be the only one who knew something could make for such a lonely time.

Kara smiled. She kissed Lena. “I’d love to.”

They settled back against the pillows and the headboard. Lena absently pulled the sheet back over them as the air started to chill.

_ “So, we have to start with the mythology of my people before we start on the actual astronomy…” _


	10. Rainbows - Vasquez/Erin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prom's right around the corner and nb!Vasquez is such a gay disaster.

Vasquez adjusted their rainbow bowtie for the umpteenth time that hour. They ran their fingers through their rainbow fringe, only to be met with a light wap against their hand.

“Stop that, you’re going to ruin my work,” Alex scolded. She pulled out a comb and brushed it through their hair.

Vasquez grunted when she gave a short, sharp tug.

“Serves you right,” Alex said, entirely unrepentant. 

“Remind me why I asked you for help again?”

Alex put the comb in her bag. “Because I’m the only one in school who knows how to do a rainbow dye job with kool-aid and not have it turn out looking horrible,” she said. She turned back to look at them. “And also because you’re a gay disaster.”

“So are you,” they protested. 

“But I’m a gay disaster with a girlfriend and prom date, who by the way…” She held a hand up. Seconds later, Maggie was by her side, pressing a to her cheek. “Is awesome.”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Danvers.” Maggie grinned then noticed Vasquez’s hair. “Nice hair, Vas. What’s the occasion?”

Vasquez turned pink at the question.

Maggie raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Alex.

“They’re planning on asking Erin to prom today,” she explained. “And they wanted to catch their eye, so I helped them dye their hair.”

“That’s gay,” Maggie said. 

Alex nodded. “That’s what I said.”

“I hate the both of you,” Vasquez grumbled. 

Maggie snorted. She saw someone approaching. “Might want to get over that pretty quick, Vas, because here she comes,” she said.

“What? Now!” Vasquez panicked. “Shit, tell her to go away! I’m not ready!”

Alex punched them in the shoulder. “Breathe, Vas,” she said. “And fortify on up!”

Vasquez took a deep breath. 

They glanced over their shoulder. 

Their eyes widened. 

They stopped breathing. 

They fell off the back of the bench they had perched themself on.

Alex facepalmed.

“Owww…” Vasquez whined, rubbing the back of their head. 

“Are you alright?” A voice asked. 

Vasquez’s heart stopped. 

They looked up to see Erin standing over them. She had a look of concern on her face.

“I, uh, um, I’m…” Vasquez stammered out. “I’m fine!” They winced inwardly at the volume of their response.

Erin didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?” she asked. She bit her lip. “I think you should go to the infirmary. I can take you.” She glanced up to Alex and Maggie. “Or your friends can?”

“We can’t, actually, sorry,” Maggie said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. “Alex and me, we’ve got AP Lit with Mrs. Grant in five, and you know how she gets when people show up late.”

Erin nodded. Everyone did.

“So, yeah, make sure they get to the infirmary. We have to run otherwise we’re going to be late for  _ a class we definitely have _ !” Maggie grabbed Alex’s hand and dragged her towards the classrooms. “Feel better, Vas!”

Vasquez pressed their palms to their eyes and desperately prayed to the gods for the earth to swallow them up. Unfortunately for them, there was no response. They felt Erin’s hand on their shoulder instead.

“Can you stand?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Vasquez quickly pushed themself up to their feet and immediately regretted the action. They swayed. “Whoa…”

Erin was by their side in an instant. She wrapped her arm around their waist. “I’ve got you,” she said. “We’ll take it slow.”

Vasquez let out a breath. “Right.” They tried to ignore the butterflies that rose up at her touch.

-

“I like your hair,” Erin mentioned just as they arrived outside the infirmary. “It’s cute.”

Vasquez could feel their cheeks turning red. “Thanks,” they said, ducking their head in embarassment. 

Erin brushed back a strand of their fringe that had fallen. “Don’t look so embarrassed, Vasquez,” she said.

Vasquez tried not to die at the way their name sounded on her lips.

Before Vasquez could say anything else, Erin pulled away. 

“Alright, we’re here.” She glanced at them. “You need me to go in with you or…?”

“I’ve got,” they said. “Um, thanks, though, for helping me here.”

Erin smiled.  “No problem.” She squeezed their hand before letting it go. “I’ll see you around.”

They parted ways. 

Vasquez moved to open the door to the infirmary, only to pause when they noticed a folded piece of paper in their hand. They unfolded it. Their eyes widened.

_ Mx. Vasquez, prom? _

_ Y/N, Erin: 619-XXX-XXXX _

They looked around, but Erin was already gone. A grin formed on their face.

_ Hell, yes. _

_ - _

“Erin!” They called out after school. 

Erin turned. 

Vasquez slid across the last several feet of grass and placed their hands on their knees, chest heaving.

“Yes,” they gasped out.

She raised an eyebrow. “Yes to what?”

Vasquez straightened up. They took a few deep breaths and brushed their rainbow fringe out of their eyes. 

“Yes, I’ll go with you to prom,” they said.

“Oh thank god,” Erin said before she pulled them into a ferocious hug. She pulled away slightly. “Would you believe me if I said I’d been planning on asking you for a few weeks now?”

Vasquez laughed and pressed their forehead to hers. “So was I.”


	11. Road Trip - The Directorship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mini-road trip with bi!disaster Lucy and gay mess!Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I might end up being a day or so behind for some of the upcoming prompts. Family drama kicked me in the face this week and now I'm dealing with the fallout. Sorry.

“You should come with me,” Alex said. “Down to Midvale, I mean.”

“Why?” Lucy asked, confused. 

Alex pointed to the remains of a shattered desk phone. 

Lucy turned pink. “It was an accident,” she protested.

“It’s the fourth one this month,” Alex said dryly. “Word is that Pam’s starting to get upset with number of times she’s had to process the same requisition order.”

Lucy crossed her arms. “Before this, I’d only smashed through three,” she grumbled. “Which, by the way, were also accidents.”

“Uh huh.” Alex leaned against the doorway, arms folded as well. “Accidents or not, according to Pam, we don’t have the budget to keep replacing your phone.”

Lucy scowled at her.

Alex sighed. “Luce, c’mon, I’m being forced to take a week’s worth of leave,” she said. “It’s only a matter of time before J’onn and Pam make you do the same, might as well try to beat them to the punch, right?”

Lucy leaned back in her seat. “When did you become the rational one here?” she asked, in lieu of giving a real answer. 

“When I got told I was to take a week off or face a month’s suspension,” was Alex’s wry response. “So, what’d you say? Leave with me in the morning, or take your chances with an upset Pam?”

Lucy sighed. “Twist my arm, why don’t, Danvers?” she joked. 

Alex quirked an eyebrow at her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll go with you. Now,” She made a shoeing motion. “Get out of my office. I have leave forms to submit.”

“That won’t be necessary, Director Lane,” a voice spoke up, making both of them jump. 

Alex turned to see Pam and J’onn standing behind her. 

Pam gave Lucy a smile that sent chills down her spine. Alex slowly edged away from the head of the HR department. 

“Director J’onzz was kind enough to submit the forms on your behalf,” Pam informed her. 

Lucy’s jaw clenched. “How thoughtful of him,” Lucy said, a fake smile on her face. She hated being out maneuvered like that. 

“Isn’t it? Now, the terms of your leave are the same as Agent Danvers. See you in a week, Director Lane,” Pam said cheerfully before disappearing down the hall. 

Once Pam was out of earshot, Lucy glared at J’onn. 

“Seriously?”

He gave a completely unapologetic shrug. “Alex is right, Lucy,” he said, choosing to ignore the triumphant look she shot Lucy’s way. “And if you don’t take the time to unwind, I’m going to have a very angry Pam on my hands.”

Alex and Lucy both winced at the image of an angry Pam. The DEO had experienced an angry HR head exactly once. It was something that no one wanted a repeat of. 

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” Lucy asked.

“Nope.” He moved to leave and clapped a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Now, get of here. Both of you. And Alex? Try to bring my car back in one piece.”

Once he was gone, Lucy scowled at Alex. 

“I hate you so much right now, Danvers.”

-

_ Next morning _

“So, how long’s the drive to Midvale?” Lucy asked, tossing her duffle bag into the trunk.

“On paper, about eight and a half hours, give or take,” Alex said with a shrug. “But between traffic and the fact that we’re leaving later in the day, it’s probably going to take us roughly a day and a half.”

“Wonderful.”

“Cheer up, Luce, it could be worse.”

“How?”

Alex started the car. “Kara could be driving.”

There was a brief moment of panic that flared in Lucy’s stomach at the mental image. Then Alex floored it. A short, panicked scream hit the air.

-

_ HOUR 1 _

“I said I was sorry,” Alex said. 

Lucy glowered. 

“C’mon, I slowed down once we hit the freeway!” Alex protested.

Lucy flicked a glance the speedometer that was ticking at 90 MPH and raised an eyebrow.

Alex sighed. 

_ HOUR 2 _

“So…are you still upset about my driving habits?”

“I’ve driven through Fallujah, Danvers, and I didn’t feel half the terror that I did when you were pulling 100 through National City traffic.”

“That would be a yes, then.” 

_ HOUR 3 _

Lucy perked up to the opening bars ‘It’s Gonna Be Me.’ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red flush start to creep up the back of Alex’s neck. She grinned.

“NSYNC, huh? Never would’ve pegged you the type for that,” Lucy mentioned casually.

Alex’s face completely turned bright red. “It’s Kara’s music,” she lied immediately and moved to change the song.

“Oh, no you don’t, Danvers,” Lucy said, swatting Alex’s hand away from the controls. “We’re gonna listen to this. I want to see just how much you know.”

Alex scowled, cheeks still red. “I hate you.”

“How the tables turn, don’t they,” Was Lucy’s smug reply.

“Fuck you.”

“Smooth.”

_ HOUR 4 _

“Want to stop for a bite to eat?”

“I packed MREs in my bag.”

“Jesus fuck, Lucy, this is America, not Iraq.”

“It was a joke, Danvers,” came Lucy’s sardonic response. “Take the next exit, I saw a sign for an In-and-Out.”

_ FOOD BREAK: IN-AND-OUT _

“You know,” Lucy said around a mouthful of burger. “I’ve never understood why people like this place so much. It’s just a burger.”

Alex gave a mock offended look. “It’s not  _ just  _ a burger, Luce,” she said. “It’s In-and-Out.”

“Whataburger’s better,” Lucy said matter of factly before stealing one of Alex’s fries. 

Alex gasped. “Blasphemy!” 

Lucy rolled her eyes. She hid her smile behind her burger. 

“You’re such a dork outside of work, Alex, you know that?” she asked and hid her smile behind her burger as Alex’s ears turned pink.

“Shut up,” Alex grumbled, but there was no real heat in her words and both of them knew it.

_ HOUR 5 _

“That’s the second time you’ve yawned in half an hour, Danvers,” Lucy said without looking up from her book.

“It’s from the pressure change!” Alex dismissed and then yawned again.

“Uh huh.” Lucy snapped her book shut. “Pullover so we can switch out.”

“Uh, how about no, considering you’ve been awake just as long as I have.”

“Fine. Then I’ll make hotel reservations.” Lucy pulled out her phone.

“I can keep driving!”

“Change out or hotel reservation, Danvers,” Lucy said. 

“Can I plead down to a lesser option, Counselor?” Alex asked dryly. 

“Nope.” Her tone left no room for argument. “Those are the options on the table.”

Alex sighed. “Fine. Make the stupid reservations.”

_ HOTEL _

In hindsight, Lucy probably should have read the room details a little more closely before she made the reservations.

“I’m sorry, what?” Lucy asked, not quite sure she had heard correctly. 

“The room you booked is a single bed suite, ma’am,” the concierge repeated. 

“Is there any way to change it? I can pay the difference--”

The concierge shook his head. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “That room is the last one had available, everything else is booked up. If you need a room with two beds, I’m sure that there are other hotels available--”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Lucy interrupted. Alex was in no condition to drive any further, she was practically dead on her feet as it was. “We’ll take what I booked.”

The concierge nodded. “Very well, give me a moment to get the keys.” He left for the backroom, leaving Alex and Lucy standing in the lobby.

Lucy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You don’t kick in your sleep, do you, Danvers?” she asked while they waited.

“Wha?” Alex asked blearily.

Lucy shook her head. “Never mind.”

-

Alex collapsed onto the bed with a groan. “God, I have no idea why I’m so exhausted,” she complained.

“Because you’ve been burning the candle on both ends for the last month?” Lucy suggested. She yawned as she stripped down and changed into a worn sleep shirt and boxers.

“I heard that,” Alex said, face buried in the mattress.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Scoot over.”

Alex grumbled but complied nonetheless. “Why do you get the spot that’s closer to the door?” she asked.

“Because I did time in two theaters of war and survived four years at West Point,” Was Lucy’s reply. She closed her eyes. “Now get some sleep, Danvers, you need it.” 

Things grew quiet for several moments before Alex spoke up to the dark room.

“What are the phone calls about?” Alex asked.

Lucy cracked open an eye, unseen. “What are you talking about, Danvers?”

“The phone calls, the ones that’ve led you to break your phone.”

Lucy was silent. She felt the bed shift as Alex pushed herself up onto an elbow.

“Lucy?”

“They’re from my father,” she finally said. “He’s taken to calling me at work to try for an in with DEO again. When I tell him no, he takes to comparing me to Lois and letting me know that I’m just like her and that the way I’m running the DEO makes me a traitor to my species.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lucy shrugged. “Don’t be,” she said. “I’ve gotten used to being a disappointment. To be honest, it makes kind of makes me wish for the time when he stopped talking to me after I came out as bi.”

“Oh.” 

Lucy had to fight back a wince at Alex’s surprised tone. “I’ll tell you about in the morning, if you want,” she said in a nonchalant manner, like she hadn’t just come out in passing to her crush.

“Okay.” A beat. “Lucy?”

Lucy cracked an eye open again. “Yeah?”

“Your dad’s wrong. You’re nothing like Lois.” Lucy felt a sensation against the back of her shoulder. It felt almost like Alex had brushed her lips against her shoulder. “You’re better.”

Lucy swallowed. She had to fight back tears at just how earnestly Alex had said that.

“Thank you, Alex,” she said.

_ NEXT MORNING, HOUR 1, TOTAL TRIP TIME: 6 HOURS _

They left before the sun was up. To Lucy’s relief, things between here and Alex hadn’t been awkward when they woke up. 

“So,” Alex started. “You’re bi.”

“Yup,” Lucy said and popped the p. She kept her eyes straight on the road ahead as she drove.

“And your dad knows.”

“Mhm.”

“Going off what you said last night, he didn’t take it well.”

“Not in the slightest.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Alex sit back, a look of heavy contemplation on her face.

“Your dad’s a dick, no offence, Luce,” she finally said.

Lucy couldn’t help it. She laughed. “He can be, yeah.”

_ HOUR 2, TOTAL TRIP TIME: 7 HOURS _

“How’d he find out, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I told him.” She felt Alex’s look of surprise. She shrugged. “I’d take a few days of leave after DADT was repealed and came back to find him ranting about how ‘queers were going to destroy the Army.’ I got angry, so I told him.”

_ I’m bi, Dad.  _ He went silent almost immediately.  _ I’m one of those fucking queers you have to work with now and if I hadn’t just told you, you never would have known.  _ A beat, then Lucy had remembered where she was.  _ Sir.  _

Alex whistled. “Damn,” she said. “What’d he say?”

“He told me to get out and then I received orders to deploy to Afghanistan.” A thoughtful look. “In hindsight, telling him the way I did probably wasn’t the best move, but I don’t regret it.”

_ HOUR 8 _

“I came out to my mom,” Alex said.

“I heard.” She glanced at Alex. “I’m glad she took it well, Alex.”

“Me too.” Alex looked out the window. “I was so sure she wouldn’t, you know, because of how she viewed me in the past.”

Lucy knew all too well the tension between the elder and younger Dr. Danvers. While it wasn’t on the same level of tensions that existed between Sam Lane and his daughters, especially since things had improved between mother and daughter, it still had a tendency to make things extremely uncomfortable when Alex and her mother were in the same space.

“It just…” Alex bit her lip. “It felt so good to say it out loud, you know?”

“I do,” Lucy nodded. She moved her hand to grip Alex’s and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “I definitely do.”

She had left her father’s office in a daze, all those years ago. Once it faded, an incredible sense of freedom washed over her. She was out and there was no going back.

-

MIDVALE

Alex unlocked the door to the house.

“Welcome to Casa Danvers,” she said as she pushed the door open. She flicked on the light switch. “Feel free yourself at home for the next week or so.”

Alex headed towards the stairs. 

Lucy looked around. So this was where Alex and Kara were raised. It was so different from the various military base houses she and Lois had grown up in. It was neat and tidy, but not in a way that made the place look cold. If anything, it only enhanced the warm, welcoming feeling the house gave off. 

“Nice place,” Lucy said as she followed Alex up the stairs.

Alex hummed. “Yeah.” She pointed to a door. “That’s my room, the one next to it’s Kara’s, and the one down the hall’s my parents’ room.”

Lucy pushed the door open to Alex’s room and took it in. There were a few NSYNC posters plastered to the wall alongside a handful of science themed ones. 

“Knew the NSYNC music was yours,” she said absently as she looked around.

She heard Alex start to sputter behind her.

Lucy turned back to look at Alex. “It’s cute,” she said and watched with barely contained glee as Alex turned bright red. “That’s also a great colour on you.”

Alex turned even redder.

Lucy sat on Alex’s bed. “So, I have to ask,” she started, keeping her tone casual. “Why exactly did you invite me with you? And don’t use J’onn or Pam as an excuse.”

“You seemed stressed,” Alex said simply. “And I wanted to help. Although, I might’ve had ulterior motives…”

“Alex Danvers, was this some elaborate plot for you to try and ask me out on a date?”

The question made Alex turn an even more worrying shade of red. 

“So it was, then.”

Alex took a breath. “Ish?” Lucy quirked an eyebrow at her. “I wasn’t entirely sure if you were, you know, gay. Or bi,” she quickly corrected. “I really did just want to help you relax and get you out of the office. Besides, I wasn’t going to spend a week of leave by myself.”

“You do realise there are easier ways to ask a person out on a date, right?” Lucy asked. 

“Hey, cut me a break, I’m new at this!” Alex protested. Then Lucy’s words registered. “Wait.”

Lucy leaned back. “Next time, Danvers, just open with that,” she told her.

“So you’re open to a date with me.” Lucy tried not to laugh at how dumbfounded Alex looked. 

“Yes, Alex, I think that’s obvious.” Lucy glanced at her watch. “How about that Italian place I saw when were driving through town? You up for dinner there tonight?”

Alex blinked at the turn of events. “Are you asking me out?”

“I am,” Lucy said with a nod. 

“I thought I was supposed to be asking you out.”

“You got the car ride as the first date,” she said. 

“That doesn’t count!”

“Too bad,” Lucy said and grinned. “So, what do you say, dinner, maybe a movie?”

“What are, in high school?” At Lucy’s droll look, Alex smiled. “That sounds perfect.”


	12. Shopping - Director Sanvers, feat. genderfluid!Lucy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clothes make the person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> change-the-rules and nerdsbianhokie came up with the idea genderfluid!Lucy. I just borrowed it for this chap.

He woke up as Leon. Maggie was still asleep next to him while Alex’s side was already cold, telling him that she had already left for work. A piece of paper of her pillow caught his eye. He grabbed it and read it over.

_ L, J’onn called and said you have the day off.  _

_ Something about you needing to spend more than 3 hrs away from work :P  _

_ See you and Mags tonight. _

_ Love you both  _

Leon let his head thump back against the pillow. He couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed that J’onn had benched him, but as the co-Director of the DEO, he understood. J’onn had the uncanny and, in Leon’s opinion, unfair skill of identifying when an agent was starting to lag or was on the verge of coming apart, often before the agent themself knew. If he was being told to take a personal day, it meant that there was something bothering him and that he had the day to figure it out.

He sighed. Laying in bed wasn’t going to help him figure it out. He got up and grabbed some clothes that were scattered about. A flat with three people, two of whom were similar in size, meant that clothing as bound to get mixed up. 

He didn’t pay attention to what he grabbed. He tugged a shirt over his binder, wiggled into a pair of Jurassic Park boxers, and slid on a pair of jeans, all without a care. Then he looked in the mirror and felt his stomach twist. 

Nothing looked right. He frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong with the picture in front of him.

_ The hair. It’s probably the hair.  _

He grabbed one of the leather hair ties that Vasquez had bought him ages ago and tied his hair back. It helped a little, but something was still off. 

He looked himself over again. Even with his binder on, the shirt didn’t fit on him. The skinny jeans he had put on accentuated his hips too much. 

_ Clothes. It’s the clothes. _

Clothes could be fixed. He stripped down and dug through the drawers to find something different to wear. He threw on a wifebeater, one of Alex’s flannels, and tugged on a pair of ripped blue jeans that he was pretty sure were Maggie’s. A quick glance in the mirror told him that his outfit was little better than the last. While it looked fine, the cut of the flannel highlighted curves in a way he didn’t want. He shook his head and went to change again.

It was four more rejected outfits before Leon finally let out a frustrated breath. He sat heavily on the bed and put his face in his hands. He was getting nowhere. Aesthetically, nothing was wrong with his clothes, they just highlighted parts of his body that he really didn’t want to pay attention to or have attention drawn to. If he went out as he was now, he would having people calling him ‘ma’am’ and ‘she’ all day long, even with his binder disguising his chest.

“Mmph…Luce?” Maggie’s sleep-heavy voice caught his attention. 

He flinched. 

It didn’t go unnoticed by her. She sat up. “Lee, what’s wrong?” she asked, blinking blearily a few times. Then the scene registered with her.

“Nothing,” he said immediately. He wished he had taken the time to fold the clothes and put them away before Maggie had woken up. 

Maggie glanced around to see the various piles of clothing scattered about the room. Then she looked back at Leon and saw just how upset he looked. It clicked. She threw the covers off and got out of bed. 

“I’ll be right back.”

Leon’s brow furrowed in confusion as they watched Maggie head to the closet. There was some rustling before she reemerged a few seconds later, a pair of dark blue jeans in her hands. 

“Try these on real quick, okay?” She said and kissed the side of his head.

Leon kicked off the pants he was wearing and unfurled the jeans Maggie had given him. He recognised them.

“Why do you have Adrian’s jeans in the closet?” he asked as he pulled them on.

Maggie shrugged. “He left them here a while back when he was staying over and just hasn’t been by to pick them up.” She tilted her head. “How do they feel?”

Leon could read in between the lines of her question. He looked in the mirror and nodded, a small smile appearing on his face.

“Better,” he said. He looked back at the piles of discarded clothes and went to start cleaning them up.

“Good,” Maggie said. She patting him on the shoulder. “Grab your shoes.”

He looked up from the pair of jeans he was folding back up, confused. “Why?”

“Because I’m taking you shopping.”

-

Leon’s shoulders were hunched as he and Maggie walked into Uniqlo. He glanced around. There was a clear gender division when it came to the clothing, but he had to admit, some of the women’s pieces looked pretty gender neutral. He even saw a few things that he would be more than happy to wear on days when he was Lucy.

“How’d you find this place?” he asked her.

“I didn’t, Adrian did,” she said as they headed in the direction of the men’s section. “He swears by this place because they’ve got clothes for petite guys.”

Petite guys. Maggie had said the words so casually that if he hadn’t been paying attention, he would’ve missed them. But they meant the world to him right now. 

They stopped in front of a large selection of various styles of pants. She glanced at him then at the rack before nodding. She grabbed a pair of jeans and joggers and shoved them into his arms.

“Go try those on while I go looking for shirts.”

Leon did as he was told. He went over to the changing rooms and took his time. He found that the jeans looked great, but he hated the way they felt against his skin. The joggers both looked and felt great, but he knew he’d have to get used to the cuffed ankles.

There was a knock on the door.

He opened it to see Maggie with a pair of chinos and a small mountain of button ups. She eyed the jeans as she handed them over to him.

“The jeans didn’t work?” she asked.

“They did, I just didn’t like the way they felt,” he said. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, Lee, I’ll find a different pair.” Then she was gone, leaving him alone again.

He kept the joggers on as he tried on each shirt. The olive green linen button up went great with the pants, but the shirt reminded him too much the old green Class A’s he had worn until the Army finally switched over to the blues. To his delight, Maggie had picked out a flannel that resembled Alex’s, just with a more masculine cut. The baby blue oxford he tried on right after it made him question wrinkle his nose and question Maggie’s taste in colours, though, but the light pink dress shirt that followed it made him nod in approval.

Another knock.

He opened the door and found himself with two different pairs of jeans into his arms. 

“Different style of denim,” she told him.

“Thanks.”

He took off the joggers and put on the first pair. They felt great, but the colour reminded him too much of dad jeans. The second pair of jeans was the clear winner for him. He nodded. 

He changed back into Adrian’s jeans and tugged his West Point sweatshirt over his head before making his way out of the changing room. He handed over the items he knew he wasn’t getting then headed towards where Maggie was standing. 

She looked over the large pile of clothing that Leon had in his arms then at him. He had a shy smile on his face.

“It’s a lot,” he said. “And I don’t have to get it all today--”

She cut him off. “You’re getting it all today,” she said. When he looked ready to protest, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “You deserve to feel comfortable as you are, Leon.”

Leon had to blink away tears. He was used to not being comfortable. He was used to the discomfort of hiding. Time with Alex and Maggie had changed that, as had coming out as genderfluid, but there would always be a part of him that would insist that he didn’t have the right to be comfortable. That he needed to hide.

Maggie gently nudged him towards the cashier line. Leon placed the items down and went for his wallet as they were scanned, only to get stopped by Maggie.

“I’ve got it,” she told him.

He started to sputter. “Maggie--”

“I’ve got it,” she said again before giving him a pout that Alex would have been proud of. “Let me do something for one of the people I love, alright?”

Between her words and the pout, Leon really couldn’t say no to that. He put his wallet away and watched as Maggie chatted with the cashier. 

“Your partner’s pretty handsome,” the cashier noted as she finished scanning everything.

Maggie flashed a grin at Leon. “Yeah, he is.” 

Leon ducked his head, feeling his face head up in embarrassment. 

The cashier handed the bag to Maggie who handed it to Leon. “You both have a great day,” she told them.

“Thanks,” both of them said before making their way out of the store.

“You want to stop by a bathroom so you can change?” Maggie asked quietly on the way out.

Leon thought about it. “Yeah, I kind of do.”

They headed over to one of the family restrooms nearby.

“I’ll be outside,” Maggie said. “Take your time. You’ve got a lot of clothes to get through.”

Leon rolled his eyes. “I know that I’m going to wear.”

“I look forward to seeing what you come up with.” She shot a grin his way. He couldn’t help but return one of his own. 

-

Maggie scrolled through her phone while she waited for Leon to change. Her phone pinged with a text from Alex.

_ How’s Leon doing? _

_ A lot better. He’s getting changed rn. _

_ That’s good. Send pics! _

_ Will do. _

A cough to her right caught her attention. She glanced over and nearly dropped her phone. 

Leon had traded the borrowed set of jeans and his West Point jumper for men’s slim fit jeans and a red flannel, with black shirt underneath. 

“Wow.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” he asked.

“Good, definitely good,” she assured him. She looked him over. “What do you think?”

He glanced down at himself. “I don’t mind looking down,” he said. “And I definitely didn’t mind the image in the mirror in the bathroom.”

Maggie nodded. 

Leon bit his lip. “Do I look, you know…?” He motioned vaguely.

Maggie closed the distance between them and kissed his cheek. “You look handsome,” she said.

He could see in her eyes that she was telling the truth. He felt his shoulders slump in relief. 

She took his hand. “What do you say we go grab some ice cream?” she asked, deciding the change the subject. “You know, to celebrate your new and improved wardrobe?”

“Sure, if we can get real ice cream this time,” he said, giving her a cheeky grin.

Maggie rolled her eyes. The three of them had had this argument before. “Vegan ice cream is delicious and you and Alex both know it,” she said. 

“It tastes like lies, Sawyer,” he snarked. “And you know it.”

“Please, Lane, you can’t even tell the difference,” she protested as they started to walk.

“I so can.”

“Uh huh.”

-

Alex stumbled inside their flat, utterly exhausted. What was supposed to have been an easy turned out to be anything but once a junior agent had uttered the word, “calm day.” Three containment breeches, one Boloxvian rampaging Downtown, and a very annoyed Pam later, and Alex was finally home. 

She was met by laughter as soon as she made it past the doorway. She raised an eyebrow at the sound and saw Leon and Maggie sitting on the couch together. Maggie was settled up against him as they watched a B-grade horror flick.

“Watch where you’re running or you’re going to--and you just tripped on a tree root,” Leon sighed. “And now you’re dead.”

The unlucky camper was promptly cleaved in two moments later. 

Maggie shook her head. “It’s like horror movies don’t exist in those universes.”

“You never know, they might not,” Alex spoke up from behind the two of them, startling the both of them. “Multiple Earths and whatnot.”

“Multiple Earths or not, that’s no excuse to not watch where you’re running when you’re facing a serial killer,” Leon huffed. 

Alex laughed. “True,” she conceded. She leaned over the couch to kiss Maggie and then kissed him. She glanced at the shopping bags nearby. “Looks like you two had a productive day.”

Leon grinned. “Yeah,” he said. “Maggie’s the best.”

Maggie preened. “Of course I am,” she said.

“Careful, Lee, otherwise Detective Sawyer’s ego won’t fit in bed with us,” Alex said jokingly then chuckled when Maggie stuck her tongue out at her.

“So how was your day?” He asked. “Am I going to be facing a mountain of paperwork when I get back?”

“Exhausting, but no,” Alex said. “Let me go get changed and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Okay.”

-

When Alex came back, she found Maggie and Leon both dozing. She shook her head and smiled. 

“Scoot over,” she said, nudging Leon. 

Leon grumbled and cracked an eye open, but shifted over nonetheless before closing his eye again. 

Alex settled her head on his shoulder. “You look great, by the way.”

His face turned pink.

Alex leaned up slightly and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Love you, Leon,” she said.

Even though his eyes were closed, he smiled, letting Alex know he was still awake. 

“Love you too, Alex,” he said. He briefly opened his eyes to glance down at Maggie, who had her head in his lap. “Love you too, Maggie.”

“Love you both too,” she mumbled, eyes shut.

Alex and Leon traded looks before he settled back. Alex shifted and closed her eyes. She listened to the breathing of her lovers even out before she dozed off alongside them.


	13. Anniversary - Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Alex wanted to do was treat her wife to dinner and a walk around town for their first wedding anniversary. Too bad Agent Schmidt had to jinx it.

Alex had started planning hers and Maggie’s first wedding anniversary months ago. She had it all planned out: she was going to take Maggie to Verdant Garden, an upscale vegan/vegetarian menu that Maggie had said she wanted to try, go for a walk around town, and then finish the night off making love with her wife. Alex had even gone as so far to put in forms for 24 hours worth of leave so that she could have the night and following day with Maggie.

All that planning was why, when a rookie agent announced that there would be nothing to worry about because it was going to be an easy night, Alex nearly decked him.

-

“What did you just say, Schmidt?” Alex asked, her voice dangerously low.

“Uh, I said that it was going to be a pretty chill night,” he said. “I mean, there’s no one on our radar and—”

“Schmidt,” Alex interrupted. “Stop talking. Right. Now.”

His brow furrowed in confusion before he took a look at the faces of his fellow agents. They all looked torn between wanting to kill him or cry. He clammed up.

Alex sighed. “Alright people, call your partners, significant others, or what have you,” she said. “We’re in for a long night.”

“Agent Danvers, I don’t understand what’s going on,” Schmidt started. “There’s nothing—”

He found himself cut off by a fist to the face that produced a loud, meaty thwack with a small crunching sound underneath. His body hit the ground with a thump. He was out.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to see Vasquez shaking out their hand. They looked extremely unhappy.

“Erin flies in tonight,” they said when they noticed everyone’s eyes on them. “I was planning on picking her up from the airport.”

Nods of understanding were shared.

Alex looked down at the fallen agent and then to Vasquez. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Alright, Demos, get Schmidt to the medbay,” she said tiredly. “Vasquez, go down to R&D and have them scan your hand to make sure you didn’t break anything and then get it stitched up.”

She looked at the rest of her agents. “The rest of you, grab your gear and make sure you’re ready to move at the first—”

Klaxons began blaring.

“Sound of an alarm,” she finished before let out a harsh breath. “Let’s move!”

-

 _“One Kordovan my left nonexistent nut!”_ Alex heard Vasquez yelling angrily through the comms, over the sounds of thunder rifles and the occasional grenade explosion.

Alex shared that anger. Intel had said that there was a rampaging Kordovan down by the docks. What they had failed to mention was that it wasn’t just one Kordovan, it was a pack of them. That information disconnect was what led to their current situation.

Alex and her team were pinned behind shipping containers as they worked to contain the pack. It wasn’t working. Bullets deflected from their hides and full powered shots from Alex’s space gun only seemed to make them angrier.

Alex fired off another shot and then dove for cover as a meter long spike was launched her way.

“Anyone know what’s in these shipping containers?” she yelled into her helmet mic.

“ _Uh, let’s see,”_ Winn said. “ _Cars, lumber, and oh shit.”_

That didn’t sound good.

“Oh shit? What do you mean by oh shit?” Alex demanded.

A loud, earthshaking explosion rocked the docks. Alex glanced over her shoulder.

“Winn, please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was.”

_“If you’re thinking that it was about a thousand gallons of oil that just went up, then yeah, it was.”_

Alex thunked her head against container.

“Wonderful.”

-

Three hours later, Alex and her team were limping back into the National City headquarters. It had taken an intervention an improvised rocket launcher made out of an Audi ( _how_ exactly Vasquez had managed to make it while under fire was beyond anyone’s understanding), but the Kordovan pack was finally secured. The dock was a smouldering ruin, but no one was dead, so Alex was going to mark it down as a win for tonight.

“Anderson, go with Demos and make sure the Kordovans are checked in,” Alex ordered tiredly. “The rest of you, feel free to get cleaned up or just head to the medbay.”

Multiple, “Yes, ma’am’s” rang out before everyone went their separate ways.

Alone in the locker room, Alex finally collapsed onto the bench with a groan. She pulled her phone from her vest and checked it over. She winced when she saw the number of notifications she had. There were two missed calls from Verdant Green, no doubt letting her know that she’d missed the reservation. Alex could feel her mood plumet even further when she saw that she had 6 missed calls from Maggie and a bevy of texts to boot.

_Sry I missed your call, was in interrogation. Don’t worry about the reservations, I’ll see you at home :)_

_I just saw the news, are you still on sight?_

_P sure I saw Vas. Was that a rocket launcher? When ur back, them I want one._

Alex smiled when she saw the last text Maggie sent. It was a running joke between the two of them.

“Glad to see you’re still in one piece, Danvers,” a voice said.

Alex startled, hand going for her gun. She blinked with she saw Maggie leaning against the doorway to the DEO locker rooms with a bag of takeout in her hands.

Alex cleared her throat. “Actually, it’s Danvers-Sawyer,” she corrected, a cheeky grin crossing her lips. She tilted her head. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you, babe, but I thought you’d be at home?”

Maggie gave her wife a look. “I saw the news, Alex,” she said. “If you honestly thought I was going to wait at home, then you need to go to the medbay and get your head checked.”

Alex had the decency to look slightly abashed.

Maggie pushed off the doorway. “I figured that since we didn’t make those reservations at Verdant Green, I might as well bring dinner to you.” She straddled the bench across from Alex and pulled out the boxes of food. She handed Alex a pair of chopsticks.

Alex took them and opened a box of orange chicken. “I’m sorry that I made us miss the reservations,” she apologised.

“Don’t be, I’m a cop, Alex, I get it.” Maggie gave Alex a lopsided grin that showed off her dimples. “It happens.”

Alex stabbed a piece of chicken. “Yeah, well, it’s all Schmidt’s fault,” she grumbled.

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Schmidt, the new kid?” she asked. Alex nodded. “What’d he do?”

“Said tonight was going to be an easy night. Asshole.” Alex had a scowl on her face just thinking about it.

“Ah.” Maggie understood that all too well. “Well, it did have at least one positive outcome.”

“Yeah?” Alex raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

Maggie took a bite of her lo mein. “I got to have a date with you in full tactical gear.” Her smiled turned positively salacious. “Have to say, Agent Danvers-Sawyer, you look hot in it.”

Alex could feel her turning red. Even after all their time together, Maggie still had the uncanny ability to make her blush with ease.

Maggie chuckled and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss against Alex’s lips before she could say anything in response.

“Happy anniversary, Alex,” she murmured.

Alex smiled. She pressed her forehead against Maggie’s. “Happy anniversary, Maggie.”


	14. Best Friends - Supercorp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena had no idea what she was in for when she agreed to Kara's suggestion that she do a TedTalk. She can't say she's unhappy with the long term results, though.

When Kara had first asked her to do a TedTalk, Lena had immediately said no. She was, after all, a Luthor. Who in their right mind would want to listen to a speech given by a woman who was the sister to a psychopathic mass murderer and the daughter of a woman championing genocide and terrorism in the name of humanity? 

_ You’re not Lex, Lena, and you’re not your mother _ , Kara had protested almost immediately before pulling out her trump cards: a pout and a set of puppy dog eyes.

Between Kara’s words and the puppy dog eyes, Lena never stood a chance. She had just sighed and agreed to exactly one talk, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered at the wide smile on Kara’s lips. 

Three days later, she spoke on the need for more women in STEM while highlighting the achievements of those currently in the field. 

_ Women in STEM is not some idealistic or politically correct idea,  _ she had told the audience.  _ It is a must, because you cannot be what you cannot see, and there are little girls out there who have ideas that could save the world, but unless they see themselves represented here, in a room exactly like this, those ideas will just stay ideas. _

It had been well received. She had received a standing ovation from the crowd once her speech was over and journalists in attendance had written glowing pieces about it. To her surprise, one successful TedTalk led to the request for another one, which was just as well received as the last one. Before she knew it, she was being asked to give more talks at science and education conventions.

_ I can’t believe they want more,  _ she had told Kara over dinner.

Kara had just laughed.  _ Why wouldn’t they? You’re an amazing woman, Lena. _

Lena had felt her stomach flip at Kara’s words and settled for ducking her head instead of stammering out a response. 

It was no surprise that when she bought out CatCo, Lena made sure that there a TedTalk channel was quickly set up. Unlike many of the other TedTalks she had given in the past, the videos featured on the CatCo channel were more comical, but still incredible informative. The features videos covered a wide variety of topics, from self-defence, which featured Agent Danvers throwing around a hapless Agent Demos,

_ Sandra Bullock was pretty spot on for the SING method. Agent Demos here is going to help me demonstrate it for those of you who are unfamiliar with it.  _ Agent Demos grabbed her.  _ So, SING: Solar plexus.  _ A pained grunt from Demos.  _ Instep.  _ A yelp from him.  _ Nose.  _ A sickening crunch followed by swearing.  _ And groin. _

_ Whoa whoa whoa wait, Danvers--- _ A swift jab backwards that was followed by a squealing noise and then a thump as he collapsed.

To mental health, which saw Lena speaking about what it was like to be the sister of a mass murder,

_ You come home and find out from the news that your brother is a psychopathic mass murder. What do you do?  _ she had started.  _ Well, first thing’s first, you take a deep breath, close your eyes, count to three, and tell yourself that you are not to blame.  _

She had locked eyes with Kara.  _ Because you aren’t your brother and holding yourself responsible for his crimes isn’t doing him or you any favours. _

And more. There were few things that Lena wasn’t willing to cover, especially as she grew more comfortable with the compliments and praise the videos received. Having Kara as a rehearsal buddy certainly helped as well. 

_ That was great! They’re going to love it!  _ Kara would always say.

_ I think you’re a bit biased, Kara,  _ Lena was say, blushing and rolling her eyes as her stomach flipped.

_ Maybe,  _ Kara would shrug while her smile would turn shy for just a second.

It was about nine videos before Lena realised she had a crush on Kara. Every time she would see Kara’s proud smile in the audience, she felt her stomach flip. It took a conversation with a very exasperated Sam to make Lena actually do something about it.

-

“She’s my best friend, Sam,” she said for the umpteenth time. 

Sam just rolled her eyes. “People don’t buy media companies for their best friends,” she said. “CEO’s with no idea of scope and have a major crush on someone who works for that company do.”

“It was a business decision!” Lena protested. “What better way to counter negative press than by buying a press company!”

“Aside from how unethical that is, you and I both know that’s not the reason you bought CatCo, and besides, CatCo hadn’t printed anything negative about you,” Sam said. “If you wanted to counter negative press, you would’ve bought the Daily Planet because they dragged you through the mud after Lex was arrested and to be honest, the tone they take whenever L-Corp comes up isn’t the greatest.”

Lena scowled at her friend. 

Sam tried a different tactic. “You wear her NCU sweatshirt when you’re at home, Lena,” she pointed out.

“Kara left it and I get cold sometimes,” was Lena’s immediate response. .

“Uh huh.” Sam sighed. “Why don’t you just tell her?” Lena gave her a flat look. “Maybe drop some hints?”

“Hints?”

“That there’s something more there.” 

Lena bit her lip. 

“Look, I’m not saying outright tell her, just, do something, please?” Sam asked. “Before you buy out Netflix or something for her.”

Lena leaned back. “I’ll think about it.”

-

It was several days before Lena came up with the idea to do a TedTalk on how to make a best friend. It was her way of channelling her feelings into something productive while. That it would be a rehearsal of sorts for the day when she actually confessed said feelings to Kara just happened to be a convenient bonus. 

Unlike previous TedTalks, Lena chose not to rehearse this one in front of Kara. Instead, she had dragged Winn into her office and used him to practice. To her dismay, he had started tearing up the first time he heard her speech. Winn was quick to reassure her that it wasn’t a bad speech, there was just a lot of emotion and subtext underneath.

_ It makes you sound human,  _ he had said.  _ More than the other TedTalks you gave, which is good.  _

Lena ran through it a few more times just to make sure. Winn nodded approvingly at each one before giving her a thumbs up. 

_ You’ve got it,  _ he had said and smiled. Lena’s stomach had remained still at the sight as she returned it.

That had been just two days ago. Now that she was on stage, Lena could feel her stomach getting ready to fly up her throat. 

“Miss Luthor?” one of the stagehands asked. 

Lena glanced at her.

“You’re up.”

-

Lena walked out onto the stage. She was met by cheers and applause and smiled. She waited for it to settled down, scanning the crowd while she waited. Almost immediately, she found Kara sitting in the front row next to Winn. 

Lena felt her heart stutter in her chest. She took a breath. Then, Kara gave her an encouraging smile. She felt herself relax.

_ It’s just like any other TedTalk. _

“So, you’re trying to make a best friend,” she started. “Where do you start? What do you look for? Well, in my experience, a best friend is someone who will stand by you despite your name and accept you for you.”

She saw Kara’s eyes widened.

“They’re someone who thinks that you’re a hero even though you feel like you’re not.”

Even with the distance between them, Lena could see tears starting to gather in Kara’s eyes. 

“They’re someone who inspires you to be better and holds you up even when things look rather bleak.”

She locked eyes with Kara.

“And they’re someone that you could love.” 

She could see Kara starting to cry silently. She bit her lip and focused back on the crowd.

“If you find someone with some or most of those qualities, then congratulations, you’ve found your best friend.” 

Laughter broke out. Lena smiled right alongside with them before clapping her hands. “Now for the hard part: becoming friends with them…”

-

Lena was in her office going over the latest reports from R&D when Kara walked into her office. She looked up to see the Girl of Steel looking rather nervous. She raised an eyebrow.

“You look like someone just told you that they’re closing down Noonan’s,” Lena remarked.

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine,” Kara stammered out. “Wait, are they really?”

Lena laughed. “No, they’re not,” she said. “Although, if you’re concerned, I could always buy them for you.”

“That’s not necessary!” Kara rushed out. She let out a short breath. “I’m actually here to talk about your TedTalk.”

Lena bit her lip. “What about it?”

“What you said, were you talking about me?” Kara asked.

Lena sat back. “Yes,” she said without hesitation. “You, Kara Danvers, are most definitely my best friend.” 

“So, that part about a best friend being someone you could love, does that mean…?” Kara trailed off.

“That I love you?” Kara nodded. “Yes.” The moment the words were out, Lena felt panic flare in her gut but she quickly pushed it back. 

_ There’s only two outcomes, nothing to be afraid of,  _ she told herself. 

“Oh.” 

Lena looked away, feeling a flush creeping up the back of her neck. “You don’t return the sentiment,” she guessed and tried to hide the embarrassment and grief that was starting to settle in. 

“I do!” Kara blurted out. 

Lena blinked. She stood and walked around her desk to stand in front of Kara. “You do?” she asked.

Kara nodded. “I do,” she said quietly, giving Lena a small, shy smile. “I just, you know, didn’t want to say anything because you’re Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp and to the rest of the world, I’m just Kara Danvers, journali--”

Lena interrupted Kara by pressing her to hers. It was an impulsive move, but it was one she didn’t regret. She placed her hands on Kara’s hips and let her eyes slip shut as Kara kissed her back. She felt Kara place her arms around her shoulders.

They broke apart when air became an issue. 

“Sorry,” Lena apologised. “I couldn’t let you put yourself down like that. You’re not just a journalist, you’re my hero, Kara.”

Kara’s cheeks turned pink. “You really have a way with words, Miss Luthor,” she teased. 

Lena grinned. “I would certainly hope so,” she said.

Kara pressed her forehead to Lena’s. “So, how what?” she asked. 

Lena pretended to think. “How about dinner?” she suggested. “I was thinking about that place on 32nd street, the one with the potstickers that you like.”

Kara smiled widely. “Sounds perfect--” She cut herself off when the sound of alarms from downtown filtered in from the balcony. She winced. She looked back at Lena. “I’m sorry, I have to--”

Lena placed a hand on Kara’s chest, right on top of where she knew Kara hid the crest of House El. 

“Go,” she told Kara. “It’s okay, we’ll talk more tonight. Now, go be a hero, Supergirl.”

Kara nodded. “I’ll be back,” she said as she stepped towards the balcony. She glanced to Lena, then she was gone. 

Lena watched with a fond smile as Kara flew off. 

“A Super and a Luthor, who would’ve thought?”


	15. Truth - Marcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> West Point Honour Code: I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those that do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an AU of Closet, where Lucy grew tired of hiding and decided to follow Kate Kane's example.

Lucy’s freshman year at West Point had just started when Kate Kate was expelled. She had watched, the Monday after Ring Weekend, from her quarters as the woman who had just been named First Captain was escorted from the grounds by MPs. At first, no one knew why First Captain Kane had been dismissed. Then, the truth hit the barracks in a hushed whisper: Kate Kane was a lesbian and instead of choosing to deny it, she had decided to uphold the Honour Code.

The truth terrified Lucy. She was bisexual. If the brass had been so willing to dismiss their First Captain just because she was gay, what would they do to her? Lucy was determined not to end up like Kate, so she hid. And she lied. And she hated herself.

Lucy’s deception was elaborate. She started a relationship with Jason Sill, a cadet from D-4. 

_ You know?  _ He had asked in a hushed voice.

_ I know.  _

She played the role of the infatuated girlfriend while balancing the demands of the Academy. 

When she learned that some cadets had been outed after nosy roommates read their private journals, she started to commit everything to memory. It was exhausting and in the end, it wasn’t enough.

It was her junior year when she started to hear the whispers. 

_ Heard from Watson that Lane’s been looking at girls the same way she looks at guys. _

It made Lucy’s stomach twist with fear. She and Jason had sex to stop the rumours. It didn’t work.

Right before the Army-Navy football game, Lucy was called into commandant’s office. By then, she was tired. 

_ We’ve heard some rumours floating about, Cadet Lane,  _ he had said as soon as the door was shut.  _ Are they true? _

Lucy remembered the day Kate Kane was escorted from the grounds in disgrace. It had led her to hide and lie and do everything a cadet of West Point was supposed to stand against.

_ I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do,  _ she had recited in lieu of an answer.

The commandant had sat back, his face growing grim. He could read between the lines.

_ Cadet Lane, I advise that you think very, very hard about what you are going to say next. _

_ I’m done lying _ , she had replied and told the truth:  _ I’m bisexual.  _ She tried not to cry as the words left her lips, knowing that with those two words, her career and time at West Point were now over.

She turned on her heel and went back to the barracks with two MPs a step behind her. She packed up her things under their watchful gaze and never said a word. 

Lucy left West Point like Kate Kane had: stone faced, head held high, and MPs flanking her. She ran Jason just before she made it to the gate.

_ I’m sorry,  _ he had said.

I’m scared, is what he had meant.

_ I’m not,  _ she had said.

You’ll be okay, is what she had meant.

She took train down to Metropolis and called Lois. 

_ What happened?  _ Lois had asked without preamble.

_ I told the truth,  _ Lucy had said simply. 

Lois picked Lucy up at the train station. Later that night, she called in some favours down in New York. Three days later, Lucy found herself standing on the grounds of NYU. Dressed her PT uniform and an Army-issued duffle bag in one hand, she looked out of place. But for the first time in three years, Lucy felt at home. She felt free. 

Lucy threw herself into work as soon as the spring term started at NYU. She soon found herself thriving in a way she hadn’t at West Point. She continued on as a Political Science major and quietly started to work with the Gender and Sexuality Studies department. It was there that she met a computational statistics major named Marie. 

_ Lucy Lane,  _ she had introduced herself.

_ Lane? Like Lois Lane?  _ By then, Lois had started to make a name for herself at the Daily Planet.

Lucy had cringed at the question, but nodded.  _ She’s my sister. _

_ Never would’ve guessed,  _ Marie had said and grinned.  _ You’ve got a better jaw than she does. _

Lucy couldn’t help the smile that rose and ignored the way her stomach flipped.

They became fast friends after that.

There was something about Marie that intrigued Lucy in a way that she couldn’t explain. She admired the way Marie carried herself: confident, proud, unashamed. As time went on, Lucy found her eyes draw to Marie’s lips every time she laughed or smiled. Then, on a chilly Christmas Eve at Rockefeller Centre, Marie kissed her.

_ I’m sorry,  _ Marie had stammered when Lucy didn’t react.  _ I thought-- _

Lucy kissed her back.

-

_ Six months later _

“I didn’t know you were at West Point.”

Lucy looked up from her LSAT prep books to see Marie holding up her track jacket. She felt her stomach drop. 

“Oh, yeah. I was,” she said.

Marie sat on the bed across from her. “What are you doing here if you were at West Point?” she asked, curious.

“I left.”

Marie rolled her eyes. “I figured that part out,” she said. She tilted her head. “Why did you leave?”

Lucy bit her lip and looked back down at her books. It had been a year since she was dismissed from West Point, but she couldn’t stop the lump in her throat that rose at Marie’s question.

“Luce?” Marie asked gently. “Babe, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” She could see just how upset her question had made her girlfriend. 

Lucy shook her head. “No, it’s fine.” She took a breath. “I told the truth.”

“The truth?” 

“That I’m bi,” Lucy said. There was no hesitation, just a casual statement of fact. It had gotten easier to say over the past year.

“Why would they make you leave for that?” Marie was confused. 

“Because there’s a military policy in place that says we queer people can’t serve,” Lucy said. “It got put in place right before the term started my freshman year. They kicked our First Captain, essentially the best cadet at the Academy, out because she was gay.”

“That’s horrible!”

“Mhm.” Lucy hummed her agreement. “It’s why here now, doing all of this…” she motioned to the books spread out across the bed. “One day, I’m going to change that policy, so that no other cadet or active duty service member has to go through what Kate and I went through. So that they don’t have to be afraid of losing everything just because of who they love.”

“Have I told you how amazing you are, Lucy Lane?” Marie asked.

Lucy gave her a cheeky grin. “You could stand to mention it more,” she drawled. 

Marie grinned back. “You’re amazing, Luce,” she said. 

Lucy preened. “Aw, thank you, Mar,” A wistful smile crossed Lucy’s face. “I don’t regret it, you know.”

“Regret what, kissing me on Christmas Eve or dating me?” Marie asked jokingly.

“Well, both of those for sure, but I meant telling brass the truth,” Lucy said. She took Marie’s hand in hers and brought them close to her lips. “Because I got to meet you.” She brushed her lips against their joined hands. “And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

“You’re such a sap,” Marie said, blushing.

“You’re dating this sap,” Lucy teased. 

“I certainly am.” Marie leaned forward and placed her forehead against Lucy’s. “I love you, Lucy.”

Lucy gently pressed her lips against Marie’s. “I love you too, Marie,” she murmured against her lips. 


	16. Parade - Sanvers, feat. nb!Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nb!Alex's first Pride Parade.

“Extra sports bra?”

“Check!”

“Extra water?”

“In the pack!”

“Sunscreen?”

“Already slapped on!”

“Vest?”

“Uh…” Frantically rustling and muttered curses. 

Warm laughter rang throughout the apartment as Maggie emerged from the bedroom, a dark blue denim vest in her hands. She held it up. 

“What would you do without me, Danvers?” she teased.

“Break a rib and get heatstroke because I decided to wear my binder longer than I should’ve of,” was Alex’s blunt reply. 

Maggie gave her partner a look as they took the vest from her. She watched them turned around and slip it over their binder.

Alex turned around. “How do I look?” they asked nervously. 

“Handsome.” She ran her fingers through their short cropped hair. “And badass.”

Alex’s face turned pink. They looked down at their clothes.

The vest was one Alex had for years. It was covered in patches, some from their punk rock phase and others, like the nonbinary and trans flags, that were more recent. It sat pretty flat over their binder, something that Alex was immensely relieved over. Their black DEO issued cargo shorts had a few buttons pinned to the pocket flaps and did wonders to disguise their figure. A pair of rainbow sunglasses, courtesy of Maggie, sat propped on top of their head.

They bit their lip. “You think so?”

Maggie smiled. “I know so, babe,” she said. “You look perfect, ‘Lex, like always.”

Alex tugged on their vest. “Do you think…do I look like I’ll fit in?”

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “You look hella queer, Danvers, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she told them. 

Alex chuckled as they blushed even deeper. “No, it’s just, I had something else planned, you know?” they said. “I was gonna wear my vest with a really short skirt you haven’t seen me in before, but when I woke up this morning, that outfit just…”

“Didn’t feel right?” Maggie guessed. 

Alex nodded.

She kissed the side of their head. “That’s okay, Alex,” she said. “As awesome as that outfit sounds, you deserve to feel comfortable in whatever it is that you’re wearing. And between you and me, babe, you look amazing in anything.”

Maggie grinned at Alex as she looked them over. It made them stammer and blush even more, but they smiled nonetheless.

“You don’t look half bad yourself, Sawyer,” they said.

“Is that so?” She preened, making Alex laugh, before surprising them with a kiss that drew a startled gasp from them. She smiled against their lips when she felt them wrap their arms around her to pull her closer.

The two of them broke apart, chests heaving, when air became an issue. 

“So, you ready to go, Mx. Danvers?”

Alex squeezed her hand. “Ready when you are.”

-

The moment Alex joined the crowd, they found themself flashing back to the one of the many clubs they had frequented during their party days. There were so many people moving around them. The heavy bass from various store fronts and the passing Pride floats pounded up and down the street, shaking Alex to the core. Then, they felt Maggie’s hand slip into theirs. 

Alex blinked. They glanced to their right to see Maggie standing next to them. 

“Stay with me, Danvers,” she said and squeezed their hand. “I’ve got your back.”

Alex brought their joined hands to their lips and pressed a kiss against Maggie’s knuckles. 

“I’ve got yours too.”

The two of them made their way through the crowd, occasionally stopping to snap a photo or two or marvel at those on the floats. They eventually met up with the Superfriends, which included Vasquez and their wife Erin among them for the day, though Kara was noticeably absent. 

Vasquez nodded when they saw Alex. “Looking good, Danvers,” they said. 

“Thanks.” Alex returned the nod. “You look…”

“Queer as fuck?” Vasquez asked, chest puffing up with smug pride. 

“I was going to say colourful, but queer as fuck works too.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “Ignore Mx. Vasquez here,” she said. “They can get full of themself when it comes to Pride.”

“Hey!” Vasquez protested. “You know what they say, Erin, if you got it, flaunt it!”

She kissed her spouse’s cheek. “I know, Vas, I’m just teasing you.”

Vasquez pouted.

Alex looked around. “Where Kara? She running late or--” They found themself cut off by shouts and people pointing frantically. 

Alex and the others were on guard in an instant. Vasquez pushed Erin behind them as the Superfriends assumed a defensive stance. Then the scene registered with all of them. 

There, hovering just above the crowd, was Kara. More specifically, it was Supergirl. The shouts were not ones of panic, they were of awe at the fact that the Girl of Steel was not only at Pride, she was wearing a rainbow flag as her cape. 

Kara locked eyes with Alex. She grinned. 

_ “:Zhao nahn :zhao.”  _

The alien words echoed even above the din of the crowd. No one, aside from Alex, Maggie, and the Superfriends, knew what it meant, but the admiration and respect on Supergirl’s face told them all they needed to know. 

She gave the crowd a thumbs up before flying off. Cheers broke out.

“I think Supergirl just made everyone’s Pride,” Maggie said quietly as she looked around. She glanced at Alex, who had a wide smile on their face. “Did you know she was going to do that?”

Alex shook their head. “No, but I’m glad she did.”

-

Alex collapsed on to the bed, exhausted. They had broken away from the Superfriends about two hours in to Pride and spent the remaining three just walking around the city with Maggie. They felt more drained than when they had been a rookie agent training with J’onn. It was worth it, though. They had had the time of their life and even managed make some kids smile.

_ You’re an adult. _

_ I am. _

_ You’re nonbinary. _

_ I am. _

_ That’s possible? _

_ It is.  _ They wrapped an arm around Maggie’s waist and kissed her cheek.  _ It definitely is. _

Alex let out a soft groan when they felt Maggie rub aloe vera on to their shoulders. 

“Oh, that feels so good.”

“I bet.” Maggie hummed her agreement. “Of course, if you’d reapplied your sunscreen like I’d suggested, then all I would be doing is giving you a very fun massage instead.”

“I mean, there’s nothing saying that we can’t…” Alex tried.

Maggie laughed. “I don’t think so, Danvers,” she said. “Not with your back doing its best red lobster impression right now.”

Alex pouted into the sheets. They felt the bed shift as Maggie moved upwards to kiss the side of their neck.

“Did you have fun?” she asked.

“It was amazing.” They turned their head to glance at her out of the corner of their eye. “I had the time of my life, Mags.”

Maggie smiled. “I’m glad.” She had been worried when Alex had first zoned out when they entered the crowd. She leaned down and kissed their neck again. “Happy Pride, Alex.”

“Happy Pride, Maggie.” Alex looked over their shoulder as best they could while laying on their stomach and grinned at her. “Love you, Sawyer.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m treating your sunburn right now,” she teased. They pouted. She chuckled. “Love you too, Danvers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: love is love.


	17. Dance - Vasquez/Erin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Prom Night for queer disaster nb!Vasquez. Unfortunately, Vasquez has a terrible eye for colours. Thankfully, Winn and Alex are there to help them out.
> 
> After all, clothes make the person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nerdsbianhokie and change-the-rules created Erin. I'm just borrowing her for this piece.

“No.”

Vasquez glanced down at their suit. “But—”

“Absolutely not.” Winn shook his head. “You’re not going to show up to prom and stand next to Erin while wearing a neon green suit.”

“Oh come on!” They protested. “It’s eye catching! She won’t be able to keep her eyes off me!”

“Eye searing is more like it,” Alex grumbled under her breath. 

Vasquez glared at her. “Oh, bite me, Danvers,” they snarked.

“My girlfriend might have something to say about that.”

Winn interrupted the verbal spar before it could fully take off. 

“Can we get back on track here please?” He asked. He turned back to Vasquez. “Vasquez, my dude, you’re amazing and most of the time, you have this uncanny ability to turn things that shouldn’t be worn together into things that look amazing—”

Vasquez proudly puffed up.

“Unfortunately,” he continued. “This is not one of those times. This,” He held up the offending item in question. “This is hideous. Like damn, if Anna Wintour saw this thing, she would have whoever designed it taken out back and shot.”

Alex snorted. 

Winn eyed the suit. “Where did you even get something this bad?” he asked.

“That place on Downtown, on 15th street,” they said and shrugged. “It was on sale, and it looked cool.”

“Cool’s definitely not a word I would use,” Alex remarked. 

“No one asked you, Danvers!”

“Okay, first, Vas, that place on 15th is a funeral home--”

“It was a consignment store, thank you very much,” Vasquez countered with a huff.

“With a consignment store attached to it,” Winn finished. “Which should have seriously tipped you off about the pieces on sale. Second--”

“Second, Erin’s going to skin you alive if she sees you in that,” Alex finished for him. “Or at the very least, never go out with you again.”

Vasquez finally deflated. They glanced at the suit in Winn’s hands. 

“Okay, fine, it’s a bit hard on the eyes,” they finally conceded. 

Winn threw the neon monstrosity behind him. It landed in a heap somewhere in his room, but none of them were paying attention to it. 

“You both realise that this now means that I don’t have anything else to wear, right?” Vasquez questioned. “And I can’t just go out a buy a new suit because prom is  _ tonight  _ and all the suits and tuxes are out already.”

Alex leaned back against the wall and raised a hand, motioning at Winn. “And that, Vas, is where Winn comes in.”

Vasquez raised an eyebrow at Winn, then glanced back at Alex. 

Alex motioned for Winn to explain. 

Winn clapped his hands together. “Alright, so, yeah, you can’t go and buy anything tonight, but!” He held a finger up to stop Vasquez from interrupting him. “That’s fine, because I have a solution.”

Vasquez’s eyebrow climbed higher. “You do?”

“Of course,” Winn scoffed. “I have a full ride to MIT for textile engineering, remember?” He motioned for them to follow him to his large closet.

“I thought it was for computer engineering.”

“Decided to double major,” he said with a shrug. He threw the doors to the closet open. “Behold: the possible solution to all of your problems.”

Vasquez’s jaw dropped. There were at least two dozen suits and dresses in front of them. Some were simple in appearance, but when they took a closer look, they realised that they were made of fabrics they had never encountered before. If they didn’t know better, they would have sworn that Winn had walked into an Armani store and stolen its displays. 

“You made these?” they asked. 

“Yup.” Winn nodded. “Every single one of them. Of course, some of them are more proofs of concept than anything else and probably won’t work for tonight, but some of these, they’ll definitely work.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yup.” Winn crossed his hands behind his head. “So, pick one, and we’ll go from there.”

That was easier said than done. “I don’t even know where to start,” they admitted. 

“Right.” A thoughtful look. “What colour’s Erin’s dress?”

“A really shimmery dark teal.”

Alex wrinkled her nose. “And you thought that neon green was going to work with that?” she asked.

“Again, it looked cool and I wanted her dress to pop!” Vasquez huffed.

“Yeah, no, it doesn’t work that way, although…” Winn ran a hand across a few of the suits before fisting the fabric of one of them. He pulled it from the closet and held it up to Vasquez’s frame. “This might.”

Vasquez glanced down slightly to look at the suit in question. From what they could tell from their awkward field of view, it was some shade of blue and made of a fabric they had never encountered before. It seemed to change colours depending on how the light hit it. 

Winn nodded. “This’ll work just fine.”

“Okay, sweet.” Vasquez reached for it, only to yelp when he slapped their hand.

“Not yet!” he said. “I have to tailor it so that it fits and also make some adjustments.”

Vasquez looked at him. “What kinds of adjustments?” they asked warily. 

Winn just grinned at them.

Vasquez could feel dread starting to settle in their stomach. “Something tells me that I should be worried.”

Alex came up and clapped them on the shoulder. “Don’t be, he knows what he’s doing,” she assured them. “You just happen to be his design guinea pig for tonight.”

“That’s not helping.”

-

Vasquez resisted the urge to run their hand through their rainbow fringe. Alex had slicked it back for them and told them that if they did anything to mess it up before they made it to Prom, she would be very displeased. 

They checked themself over. They shifted slightly to the left and right a few times, a move that saw their suit turn from midnight blue to peacock blue and back again. They shuffled the white rose corsage around in their hands so that they could free their fingers up to adjust their emerald green bow tie. 

“Vasquez?” 

Vasquez spun around and nearly dropped the corsage when they saw Erin standing behind them. 

“Erin! Hi!” They could feel heat starting to creep up their face.

To their relief, Erin just smiled. “Hi,” she said warmly. “Have you been waiting long?”

Vasquez shook their head. “Nope. Just got here.” They shoved the corsage in her face. “This is for you!”

Erin gently pushed it down. “It’s beautiful,” she said. She held her wrist out. “Care to do the honours?”

“Oh, right.” Vasquez’s hands shook as they took the corsage out of the box and slipped it onto her wrist. “There.”

“Thank you.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a boutonniere made from a matching white rose. “May I?”

“Of course.” 

Vasquez had to remind themself to breathe when she stepped closer. 

“Breathe, Vas,” she teased gently as she pinned it to their suit. 

Vasquez choked when they felt her fingers brush against their lapels.

“And there.” She took a half step back and nodded. “It goes well with your suit.” She looked them over. “Not that you needed help with that. You look dashing.”

Vasquez could feel their face turn bright red as they started to blush. “Thanks,” they said. “You look amazing too, with the hair and the dress and you know…”

Erin laughed. “You’re such a sweet talker, Mx. Vasquez.” She held her hand out. “Now, shall we join in the fun?”

Vasquez took her hand. “Let’s.”

-

_ “Vas, necesitas relajarte,” _ Maggie hissed under her breath.

_ “Estoy intentando,”  _ they hissed back.

They were both standing by the punch table as Alex and Erin discussed something chemistry related. Vasquez was very much an engineering person and Maggie detested any sort of chemistry that was beyond general chemistry, so they had quickly retreated as soon as the conversation started. 

“You’re going to break something if you stand any stiffer,” Maggie muttered, switching back to English when she saw their respective partners heading their way. 

Before Vasquez could tell her to shove off, Alex and Erin were back. They felt Erin wrap her arm around their waist.

“Sorry,” Alex apologised. “I got stuck with Lord as a lab partner and he’s not the greatest at sharing data, so I had to ask Erin about her lab results.”

“And that couldn’t have waited until after prom?” Maggie asked, eyebrow raised.

Alex turned pink.

Maggie kissed the side of her head. “I’m just teasing you, Danvers.”

The music changed before Alex could say anything. She and Maggie exchanged looks. 

“Slow dance is early,” Alex mused.

“You complaining, Danvers?”

“Pft, you wish, Sawyer.” She tugged on Maggie’s hand, moving the both of them towards the dance floor. “C’mon.”

They quickly disappeared into crowd, leaving Vasquez and Erin alone. 

“So…” Vasquez started.

“So…” she drawled back at them. She took their hand. “Do you want to dance with me, Mx. Vasquez? Or would you prefer that we stick it back here by the punch table?”

Vasquez raised an eyebrow. “What happens if I pick the latter?” they asked.

Erin shrugged and leaned against the table. “Then we stand here and snipe about the fashion choices of our peers,” she said. “Although, we might want to go to the end of the table because I have a feeling that Edge and Kara are going to be duking it out over here in a bit.”

“What?” Vasquez was confused. “Why?”

“Look at Edge’s shoes.” 

Vasquez did. They tilted their head, trying to see what it was that Erin was, but they just couldn’t.

“I don’t get it.”

“That leather is from Italy. And the buckles? Solid gold. Toss Edge into the pool and the man’s going to sink right to the bottom.” Erin shook her head. “They’re a total disaster, really.”

“I’m still not getting.” What did shoes have to do with Kara potentially punching out Morgan Edge?

“Expensive leather and solid gold on a shoe worn by a teenager. Shoes are easily lost, Vas, not to mention, they find dirt faster than a white t-shirt does,” Erin said. “The fact that he’s wearing those, here, shows that he doesn’t care about losing or dirtying them. It’s a completely vulgar display of wealth.”

“And that’s going to make Little Danvers upset?”

Erin shook her head. “Edge’s family had most of assets seized pretty recently. They don’t exactly have the funds to be buying shoes like that,” she said. “It’s not common knowledge, of course, but Kara found out.”

“And Kara’s much too nice a person to bring it up.”

“Unless she gets upset. Edge has been sulking all night because Lena decided to go to prom with Kara instead of him. And, he’s drunk.”

“None of that is a good combination,” Vasquez noted.

“Nope. Knowing Edge, he’s going to say something about Lena, Kara’s going to hear it and throw the information she has in his face, he’s going to swing first, Kara will dodge, and Alex will probably finish the fight.”

“Wow. All of that from a pair of shoes, huh?”

Erin blushed. “I just like observing things.” She sounded embarrassed.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed,” Vasquez quickly reassured her. “I think it’s awesome.” They bit their lip. “Maybe you could tell me some other observations you’ve made throughout the night, while we’re dancing?”

“I can do that.”

The two made their way to the dance floor and quickly settled in. Vasquez wrapped their arms around her waist while Erin placed hers around their shoulders.

“So, what else have you noticed?” they asked casually as the two of them swayed to the beat.

“That your suit keeps changing colours, for one.”

“Ah, I can explain?”

Erin chuckled. “You don’t have to, I think it’s amazing.” She tilted her head. “Winn’s?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“If it’s a fabric and does something unusual, it generally has Winn’s name written all over it,” she pointed out.

“That’s true.” A beat. “What’s the second thing?”

“Hm…” Erin pretended to think. “Well, that you’ve been wanting to ask me out for a while now.”

Vasquez froze. 

“Hey, breathe, Vas,” she urged them. 

Vasquez took a deep breath.

“There we go.” She got them moving to the music again. 

“Y-you noticed?”

“You’re not exactly subtle, Vas.”

Vasquez wanted the ground to swallow them up. “Oh, gods.”

Erin laughed. “It’s okay. Honestly, it was adorable, watching you over the past few weeks,” she said. 

“Wait.” Vasquez stopped moving. “You noticed.”

“Mhm.” She hummed the affirmative.

“So you knew I was crushing on you.”

“Yup.”

Vasquez’s brow furrowed. “Is that why you asked me to prom?” they questioned.

Instead of receiving a verbal answer, they received a kiss instead. Vasquez made a noise of surprise as their eyes widened for a second before slipping shut. They felt Erin run her fingers through their rainbow fringe. They pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

They broke apart when air became an issue.

“So, I’m guessing that means you like me?”

Erin rolled her eyes. “Yes, Vas, I--” 

Angry shouting interrupted her. Vasquez looked in the direction of the punch table just in time to see Edge aim a punch at Kara, who easily dodged it. He threw another one and stumbled. Before he could recover, he found himself face to face with a furious Alex, who promptly hip threw him and pinned him to the ground.

Vasquez turned back to Erin. “You were saying?”

She pressed her lips to theirs again.

“That answer your question?” she asked, once the kiss had ended.

Vasquez nodded dumbly. 

There was more shouting. They two of them turned to see Lord approach Alex and Kara. Vasquez winced internally. From the distance they were at, they could see Lord say something, but they couldn’t hear just what exactly it was. Whatever it was, it was enough for Kara to punch Lord in the face and bloody his nose.

Vasquez glanced at Erin. “What do you say we get out of here?” they asked.

Erin glanced in the direction of the punch table. Teachers were quickly descending on the chaos.

“Sounds like a great idea.”

-

“I had a great time tonight,” Erin said as Vasquez walked her to the front door. 

“So did I.” Vasquez bit their lip. “Hey, Erin?”

She paused, halfway to the door. She glanced at them. “Yeah?”

“There’s this gelato place in town that I was looking to try and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me tomorrow.”

She raised an eyebrow at them. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Um, yes?” Vasquez hated how their response came out as more a question than an actual answer. 

Erin smiled at them. “Sounds perfect.”

“Oh.” A wide grin broke out across Vasquez’s face. “Okay, sweet! Um, I’ll text you, wait no! I’ll call you in the morning!”

“You better.” She blew them a kiss before heading inside. “Goodnight, Vasquez.”

“Night, Erin.”

Vasquez made their way back to their car. They waited until they had the closed the door and started it up before letting out a loud whoop. They quickly shot off a text to Alex before heading home.

_ Danvers, turns out, E likes me. Like, she kissed me and we’re going out for gelato tomorrow. _

They couldn’t wait for tomorrow. 


	18. Shapes - Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you remember someone's face if you can't see them anymore? Maggie has just the answer.

“I’m afraid,” Alex whispered.

She felt the bed shift as Maggie sat up next to her. 

“Afraid of what, babe?” Maggie’s voice was soft.

“I’m afraid that…” Alex swallowed. “That I’m going to forget what you look like.”

“Alex…”

Alex let out a frustrated breath. “My colour vision was the first thing to go, Mags,” she said. “I can’t make out fine details anymore, I can only make out shapes, and even that’s starting to blur.”

Alex knew that it was only a matter of time before she lost the ability to see shapes all together. Soon, the rest of her vision would follow and she would be stuck in the dark, forever. As far as she and Morrison could tell, her vision would be completely gone by January and there was nothing anyone could do to fix it.

“Alex, you’re not going to forget what I look like,” Maggie tried to reassure her wife.

“And how do you know?” Alex snapped and immediately regretted her harsh tone. This wasn’t Maggie’s fault, hell, it wasn’t even hers. It was the fault of her genetics. 

She turned her head to the side to look away and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. 

“You’re not…”  _ Going blind. _

“I know I’m not,” Maggie said. “But Ally…” Alex felt Maggie gently caress her face. “I’m here and I’m not going to let you forget.”

“I’m going blind, Maggie,” Alex said bitterly. “In a few months, I won’t be able to see you anymore.”

“I know that.” There was something in Maggie’s voice that Alex couldn’t quite figure out. “It’s why I have a plan. 

Alex quirked an eyebrow up. “And just what is this plan of yours, Mrs. Sawyer-Danvers?” she asked.

Her brow furrowed when she felt the bed shift and heard the springs creak. She yelped seconds later when she felt Maggie straddle her hips.

“I’m not complaining here, Maggie,” she said dryly. “But I don’t see how this is going to help me remember what you look like.”

Alex could practically feel Maggie rolling her eyes at her.

“Just give me your hands, babe.”

Alex obliged. She shivered when Maggie’s warmer hands took hers. That was one thing she loved about Maggie: how warm she was. It never failed to ground her. 

“Feel that?” Maggie asked.

“Um, yes?” Alex was confused. “What am I supposed to be feeling?”

“My face.”

“I don’t get it.”

Alex heard Maggie sigh. “Here, just, picture what I look like in your memories and follow my lead.”

She felt Maggie manipulate her hands, drawing thumbs across her cheeks and across her jaw. Maggie brought Alex’s hands down, giving Alex the opportunity to swipe her fingertips against Maggie’s lips. Slowly a picture began to form in her mind's eye. 

“Feel all that?” Maggie asked quietly.

“Yeah.” She reached up and ran a hand through Maggie’s hair. 

“You don’t have to memorise exactly what I look like, just the shapes, Alex.”

Alex bit her lip. “What I forget what the shapes look like?” she asked.

“Then I’ll remind you.” She felt Maggie move. Hair tickling her nose told her that Maggie had leaned forward. A second later, her eyes fluttered shut when she felt Maggie press her lips against hers. 

Alex let out a small whine when Maggie pulled away.

“That sound good, babe?”

Alex nodded. “Sounds great.” A beat. “Thank you, Maggie, for…everything.”  _ For loving me, for staying with me despite the fact that I’m losing my vision. _

She heard Maggie let out a soft chuckle before she felt Maggie press her forehead against hers. 

“You don’t have to thank me for that, Alex,” she whispered. “In sickness and in health, ride or die, remember?”

Alex could feel tears burning in her eyes. “I remember,” she choked out. She licked her lips. “I love you so much, Maggie Sawyer-Danvers.”

She felt Maggie press a soft kiss to her cheek. “I love you too, Alex Danvers-Sawyer.”


	19. Art - Supercat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara started to paint out of a sense of duty, then to cope. Now, it's to show the world how she sees the woman she loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School's started up for me, so there's a good chance I'm going to fall behind again. Sorry.

When Kara first started painting on Earth, it was out of a sense of duty because Kal-El, Clark, knew next to nothing about Krypton. To Kara’s dismay, he didn’t seem to care about Krypton, not like she did. So she took it upon herself to preserve the memories of their people, her people, by putting them on canvas. Even if the images were static, so long that one other person besides her saw them, then they were alive. They existed in a way that Krypton never would. 

As time went on, painting became less of a duty and more as a way to cope. There were days when the memories were just too much, when homesickness gave way to crushing grief, when the world just because too loud. Whenever those days came about, Kara painting. Some pictures were abstract: the mountains of Zon-Ur, the Sea of Stars, the legendary city of Kandor. Others were not. The well defined pictures she painted ranged from the sunset of the day to bittersweet memories, like her father’s lab.

Each and every picture Kara created had one thing in common: it was how she saw it. Sunsets and sunrises were painted with colours and hues that humans didn’t quite yet have words for. Endless crowds looked faceless from a distance until one was right on top of the panting; only then could the incredible details be seen.

Kara kept her paintings a secret. Occasionally, she would sell one of her more abstract pieces, though she would use an assumed name to completely transaction. Aside from that, no one, except for Alex and Eliza, knew that she painting. 

At least, that was how it had been before she and Cat started dating. 

Nothing escaped Cat Grant’s attention. She had noticed that every so often on nights that she and Kara would together, Kara would slip out when she thought Cat was asleep and come back hours later smelling of oil paints. At first, it had confused Cat because there were no paints lying around either her penthouse or Kara’s flat. Then, she had started to notice the small flecks of paint in Kara’s hair or on the back of her hands and was intrigued. 

It went on for several weeks before Cat decided to do what a media mogul with a background in investigative journalism would do: investigate. She decided to wait for a weekend when her ex-husband had custody of Carter before executing her plan. One night, she feigned sleep, waited for Kara to leave, and then followed her.

-

Cat merely raised an eyebrow when she saw Kara enter the flat next to hers. She tested the door. It was unlocked. She hummed and quietly opened it before stepping inside.

She found her breath taken away when the scene registered with her eyes. The lighting in the flat was low, giving the place a subdued look. Kara was standing before a canvas with a half-painted image. It was obvious that Kara had been working on it for a while, thought what exactly it was, Cat couldn’t quite tell.

Cat leaned back against the entry way and folded her arms. “So, this is where you go to at night,” she said.

Kara’s hand stopped moving. Aside from that, there was no reaction. She had known the moment she left the penthouse that Cat was going to follow her. It had left her feeling a little anxious She had planned on telling Cat eventually, but, despite being a reporter for CatCo, she just couldn’t come up with the words.

Kara glanced over her shoulder. “Yes.” She placed the paintbrush into one of the many water cups and casually wiped her hands with a towel hanging from her smock. The easy movements hid how nervous she was now that Cat was standing in her sanctuary. 

She turned around and shoved her hands into the pockets of her smock. 

Cat raised an eyebrow. 

Kara rocked on the back of her heels.

Cat sighed. “Am I going to have to ask all the questions, dear?” she asked dryly.

Kara shrugged. “Depends on the answers that you’re looking for.” Months ago, she couldn’t even entertain the idea of such a cheeky response to Cat Grant. Now, it was natural.

Cat’s lips twitched into a small grin before she quickly smoothed it out into a neutral expression. 

“Alright, Supergirl.” She made her way to a very plush couch. “Let’s go. Chop, chop.”

Kara chuckled. “Alright.” She sat next to Cat and leaned back, placing an arm behind her girlfriend’s shoulders. “Where do you want to start?”

“How about the flat first?” Cat suggested. “I don’t pay you enough to afford two of them,  _ Kiera. _ ”

“Okay, that’s true.” Even with the rather large bonuses that Cat had given her over the years, on paper, Kara shouldn’t have been able to own her flat and the one next to it.

“Well?”

“I, uh, I sold a few of my paintings a few years back.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. The paintings in question had been a few of her more abstract pieces. The man who had bought them was big into abstract art and when he saw her paintings, he had immediately dropped a large sum for them.

“That brings me to my next question: why didn’t I know you could paint?” Cat asked. “That certainly wasn’t in your resume.”

Kara could feel a warm flush crawling up the back of her neck. “It just, it’s not a big deal, me painting,” she stuttered.

Cat gave her a look of disbelief. 

“I don’t make a career out of it,” Kara said. “It’s just something that I do.”

“You paint and sell those paintings for an incredible amount of money, but it’s not a job for you?”

“I have a day job,” Kara reminded her. “A day job that I happen to love.” Cat smiled. “And I’m Supergirl. Painting for me is just my way of relaxing or getting the memories out of my head.”

“So it’s therapy?” There was no judgement, just curiosity. 

Kara gave a small half shrug. “Sort of. It’s become that, yes,” she said. “But when I started, it was out of a sense of duty.”

Cat merely gave her a questioning look that urged her to continue.

Kara let her head loll back against the couch. 

“My cousin arrived here when he was a baby. He didn’t know anything about Krypton, still doesn’t, not the way that I do,” she said. “When I got here and found him all grown up, I found out that he wasn’t really concerned with Krypton or the memories. And that’s not entirely his fault, he was raised here. But I just lost my planet. My people. My family. I couldn’t...I couldn’t just let that go. Let those memories die.”

“So you started to paint them out.”

“Mhm.” Kara nodded. “I figured that even if the images were static, as long as one other person who wasn’t me saw them, then Krypton and its people were still alive.”

Cat had no idea what to say to all of that. She looked around the flat, glancing over paintings. They were all so beautiful, so detailed.

“What about now?” Kara glanced at her. “Why are you painting now, aside to clear your mind?”

“To show the world how I see it,” Kara said simply. She sighed. “This planet is just so…breathtaking, Cat. It’s not like Krypton, and it never will be, but there’s something about this place that just inspires hope. This planet is alive. It’s people are alive.”

“You make it sounds so magical,” Cat mused.

Kara shrugged. “In a way it is.” She motioned to one of the paintings hanging by a window.

Cat eyes followed the motion. It took her a few moments to figure out what it was Kara had painted, then it struck her. A sunset. It was breathtaking. The detail was amazing and it had colours that she couldn’t quite describe.

“That’s utterly breathtaking,” Cat murmured.

Kara smiled. “It’s how I see the sunset.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Kara hummed. She leaned her head against Cat’s shoulder, watching as her lover’s gaze swept across all of her work. Then, she felt Cat stiffen. She sat up.

“Cat?” she asked worriedly. She followed Cat’s line of sight to… “Oh.”

It was the painting she had been working on when Cat arrived. It was of Cat, fast asleep after she and Kara had made love. She had forgotten to cover it up and now Cat had seen it.

“I’m sorry,” Kara immediately apologised. “I should have asked before I even started--”

“Stop.” Kara fell silent. Cat stood up and walked over to the half finished painting. Kara watched as Cat reached out to touch it, only to stop just short, like she was afraid of ruining the picture.

Cat glanced at Kara. “Is this how you see me?”

“Yes.” It was said without hesitation.

Cat looked back to the painting in question. “You make me look so…”

“Beautiful?” Kara guessed. “You are.”

Even with the low lighting of her flat, she could see Cat’s cheeks turning pink as she looked away.

Kara stood and walked over to her girlfriend. She brushed her knuckles against Cat’s cheek. 

“You’re so beautiful, Cat,” she whispered. “You’re more breathtaking than any sunset or sunrise I could ever see or paint.” She gently pressed her lips to the corner of Cat’s mouth. “You’re so strong and confident and just, so amazing.” 

Kara pulled back slightly. “How could I not paint you?” she asked rhetorically.

Cat swallowed and blinked furiously to hide the tears that had risen during Kara’s little speech. She cleared her throat.

“You certainly have a way with words, dear,” she said.

Kara grinned. “Well, I am a reporter,” she teased.

“Mhm, that you are,” Cat said. “A reporter with a silver tongue.”

“You like my silver tongue,” Kara remarked and then turned bright red when the words registered with her brain.

Cat laughed. “Indeed, I do.” She wrapped her arms around Kara’s shoulders and stood on her tiptoes so that she could press her forehead against Kara’s. “Your work is amazing, Kara. You, are amazing.”

Kara would have ducked her head, were Cat’s forehead not against hers. She settled for kissing her instead. 

“I love you,” Kara murmured against Cat’s lips once they broke apart. 

Cat smiled. “I love you too,” she said quietly. 

The two just stood in each others arms, surrounded by Kara’s art, and enjoyed each others presence.


	20. Wilderness - Director Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam Lane is an arsehole and Lucy has some anger issues. Thankfully, Maggie and Alex are there for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of homophobia and homophobic language.

“You’re drooling, Alex,” Maggie said, amused.

“So are you,” Alex countered. “And can you blame me? Look at her!”

The two watched as Lucy went to town on a pile of logs. She had received a call from her father a few days earlier. What had been said, no one knew. All anyone could guess was that it wasn’t a happy conversation, if her reaction after it was anything to go by. She wound up taking a page out of Alex’s book and went to town on the junior agents. J’onn had only stepped in once the medbay hit capacity, declaring that Lucy take the next week or so off, preferably out of town, and bring Maggie and Alex with her.

Which was how they found themselves in a remote cabin in the wilderness of Wallace Falls State Park, with Lucy now angrily chopping wood. 

Maggie’s eyes followed Lucy as she raised the ax and brought it down with a vicious chop. She licked her lips. Lucy wasn’t usually one to wear flannel, but when she did, it never failed to catch their attention. The sight of her in Alex’s grey flannel, sleeves folded back to her elbows, jeans, and a pair work boots was undeniably hot.

“God, I’m so gay,” she muttered.

“You and me both,” Alex mumbled.

Lucy glanced up, as if she heard them. She wiped her forehead before slamming the axe head into the stump and making her way over to them. 

“Hey,” she greeted, her breath coming at as small puffs in the cool winter air.

“Hey.” Alex tilted her head. “Feeling better?”

Lucy looked back to the pile of wood, then returned her attention to her girlfriends. She shrugged. 

“A bit, yeah,” she said. She raised an eyebrow at the two of them. “How’re you two? You’re both looking a little red under the collar, especially you, Danvers.”

On cue, Alex turned bright red and sputtered while Maggie snickered.

Lucy shook her head. “I’m just teasing you, Alex,” she said. A thoughtful look. “That’s a great colour on you, though.” 

Alex turned even redder. 

Maggie shook her head. “Careful, Lane, otherwise she’s going to implode.”

Alex huffed, cheeks still flaming.

Maggie looked past Lucy. “So, Major LumberLane,” Lucy rolled her eyes at the nickname. “You think we’ve got enough wood for tonight?”

The cabin they were in had heating, but Lucy insisted on spending some time outside before they all went to bed. That meant they needed wood for the fire pit or they would all probably freeze to death.

“Hope so,” Lucy said. “If we don’t, I’m happy to chop some more.” Her eyes darkened ever so slightly. “More than happy, actually.”

Maggie and Alex exchanged looks that were missed by Lucy. It was obvious that their girl needed something more than chopping wood to distract herself from whatever it was had set her off.

“You up for dinner?” Maggie asked casually. 

Lucy stomach chose that moment to growl angrily. Her ears turned pink.

Maggie laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll go get started then,” she said.

“You need some help?” Alex asked.

Maggie shook her head. “I’ve got it.” She grinned at the two of them. “You two just go cuddle and watch me work my magic.”

Lucy wrapped an arm around Alex’s waist. “Don’t have to tell us twice, Sawyer.”

-

An hour later, the three of them sat around the fire pit, bowls of stew in hand. A fire crackled merrily away as the three of them quietly ate.

Lucy stared at the flames, a frown on her face. She absently brought another spoonful of stew to her mouth.

“What was the call about?” Alex asked, snapping Lucy from her fun.

Lucy glanced up, spoon in her mouth. “Whar?” she asked around a mouthful of stew. “What?” she asked again after having downed it.

“The phone call earlier this week,” Alex clarified.

Lucy shrugged. “It was nothing.”

Alex traded an exasperated look with Maggie. 

“Luce, babe, it was obviously something,” Maggie spoke up. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be out here.”

Lucy sighed. “I’m telling you, it’s--”

“The medbay has a capacity of 18, Luce,” Alex interrupted. “You filled it to capacity after you got the call. Not even I do that when I get upset.”

Lucy huffed and glared at the fire. A part of her was annoyed that neither Alex nor Maggie would drop the matter, but a part of her understood their concern. She was often the same way when Alex or Maggie found themselves spiralling due to work or an unexpected trigger. 

The air grew uncomfortable silent as Lucy silently mulled things over. The fire made a few pops before she finally decided to speak.

“My dad called,” she said. “Seems he heard about my relationship through the grapevine and decided to let me know just how much he didn’t approve.”

Alex grimaced. Sam Lane was the kind of man who raised her hackles. The man was a xenophobe, a war hawk, and also, apparently, a raging homophobe. One more than one occasion, she found herself wishing that she could punch him in the face. Now was one of them.

Maggie, unlike either of her partners, didn’t know Sam Lane personally. She knew him only through stories Alex and Lucy had told her and the image that they painted was far from appealing.

Lucy reached down and took a sip of her coffee. “Your name came up more than a few times,” she said, nodding to Alex

Alex’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

Lucy looked over the rim of her cup, contemplating both the steam and her answer. 

“He holds you responsible for ‘corrupting me to your dykish ways,’” she said dryly. Maggie and Lucy could practically hear the air quotes. “Which, of course is patently ridiculous because I’ve been out and proud as a bisexual woman since DADT was repealed, so if anyone did corrupting, it was me.” 

She shot a lavicious grin at Alex, drawing a laugh from Maggie and a squeak from Alex. It faded just as quickly as it had come.

“He made a few comments about how he should’ve done more to turn you over to Cadmus,” Lucy said, eyes darkening with rage at the memory. 

An outraged expression crossed Maggie’s face just as Alex muttered, “What a jackass.”

Years ago, a comment like that would have upset Lucy. Now, all she did was hum her agreement.

“I kind of lost it after that,” she said. “Hence me filling the medbay up with baby agents.”

“Shit, if I’d been in your position, I’d’ve done the same thing,” Maggie said.

Alex nodded. “Me too, Luce.”

Lucy gazed off into the distance. 

“You know, a part of me was kind of hoping that he’d be a little bit okay with it. Not totally approving, of course, because he’s Sam Lane, but just give tacit approval,” she said. “It sounds so stupid now that I’ve said it out loud.”

Maggie got up and moved to sit next to her. She wrapped an arm around Lucy’s shoulders and pulled her close.

“It’s not stupid at all, Lucy,” she murmured. 

Maggie knew all too well what it was like, having that hope that her father would come around and accept her, that he would tell her that her that it was okay, that he loved her for her. It was the worst kind of hope.

She kissed the side of Lucy’s head at all. “It’s not stupid at all,” she said again.

Alex joined them on the bench, sitting on Lucy’s right. She kissed Lucy’s jaw.

“I’m sorry that your dad’s such an ass, Luce,” she whispered against Lucy’s skin. 

Lucy swallowed back the lump in her throat, but otherwise said nothing.

“If he can’t accept you, us, what it is we have, then that’s on him,” Maggie said. Just like it was on Oscar Rodas for kicking out his daughter at the age of 14 just because of who she loved. 

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “Your dad’s a helluva lot worse off because of it. He gets to miss out on Maggie’s cooking come Christmas and my latkes on Chanukah.” She kissed Lucy’s cheek again. “And he gets to miss out on how awesome you are.”

Lucy chuckled. “I suppose that’s true.”

She sighed and tipped her head back, staring at the sky. The stars twinkled merrily away as the fire crackled on in the background. 

“Mags, Alex?” 

Twin hums.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. 

Twin kisses to either side of her face. 

“You’re more than welcome, Luce,” Maggie said.

Lucy closed her eyes and shifted so that she could lay her head on Maggie’s shoulder and pull Alex closer to her.

“I love you both,” she whispered.

She felt a kiss to the crown of her head from Maggie and a kiss to her neck from Alex.

“We love you too.”


	21. Language - Major Detective (Lucy/Maggie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy knows a lot of languages. Maggie wants to know more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclaimer: I don't speak Arabic. However, I can speak and read basic Farsi (Persian), so the transliteration I wrote out is based off what I know regarding Perso-Arabic script.

“So, exactly how many languages do you know, Lane?” Maggie asked.

Lucy glanced up at her. It was just the two of them tonight; Alex was away at a conference in Geneva.

“A handful,” she said and raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

She could hear the exasperation in Maggie’s sigh as shoved her vegan take on mac and cheese into the oven.

“Because  I need to know if I should pick up another language,” Maggie said.

Lucy gave her a look of confusion. “Why would you need to?”

Maggie shrugged. “Alex speaks four and you speak three, I think.” She frowned. “Or maybe four as well. I speak two, which makes me a slacker in comparison.”

Lucy chuckled. “Sawyer, if there’s any word to describe you, slacker most definitely isn’t one of them,” she said. If anything, Maggie was almost as bad as she and Alex were when it came losing herself to a case. The three of them had gotten better since becoming a triad, but there were still times when someone had to grab Maggie to get Alex out of the lab or Lucy out of her office.

Maggie rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.” She leaned back against the counter next to the stove and folded her arms. “And you’re deflecting, Counselor.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Lucy asked dryly.

“Nope,” Maggie said, popping the p.

Lucy sighed.

Maggie eyed her expectantly.

“Four, like Alex,” Lucy finally said.

“Which ones?” Maggie asked curiously.

Lucy had to take a moment to think. “English, for one.” Maggie rolled her eyes. “German, Arabic, and Farsi. Oh, and Dari, so I guess that brings it up to five.”

Maggie let out a low whistle. “Damn, Luce, that’s amazing,” she said. “I’m guessing the German, Arabic, Farsi, and Dari are military related?”

“German, Farsi, and Dari are,” Lucy said. “I actually learned Farsi before I did Dari because they’re pretty close, and then got told that I speak like an Iranian, so I had to switch solely to Arabic while I was learning Dari when I was in Afghanistan.”

“Where’d you learn Arabic?”

Lucy’s ears turned pink. “It’s, uh, my first language actually,” she said.

Maggie frowned. “Really? I would’ve thought…”

“English?” Lucy shrugged. “My second, actually. I’ve just been speaking it for so long that people just assume that it’s my first.”

Maggie winced. She knew what those assumptions were like. “I’m sorry for assuming--”

Lucy laughed. “It’s fine, Mags, honest,” she said. “It’s not something I advertise.”

Maggie took a step forward and placed her elbows on the kitchen island so that she could lean forward.

“Where’d you learn Arabic?”

“My mom.” A wistful smile crossed Lucy’s face. “She was from Lebanon. She and my dad met in ‘67, right after the Six Day War. She was Tel Aviv getting her masters and he was part of a UN peacekeeping force stationed in Israel while everyone tried to hammer out the details of what to do next.”

“She sounds badass,” Maggie remarked.

“She was.” Lucy nodded. “She taught Lois and I Arabic first because she wanted us to keep in touch with our heritage.” Her smile turned sad. “After she died, I kept speaking it because Lois prefered to speak English more than she did Arabic and it was my way of keeping her memory alive.”

“But then you stopped?” Maggie guessed.

“Yeah. My dad, he, uh, he didn’t approve of me speaking Arabic.” She grimaced. “He pretty much demanded that English be the only language spoken at home after my mom passed.

Maggie reached across the island and took Lucy’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Lucy shrugged. “As shitty a person my dad can be, I can’t really hold it against him. I think he wanted me to stop because it reminded him too much of my mom.”

Maggie felt a pang of sympathy for both Lucy and Sam Lane. Sympathy for Lucy, for being told to stop speaking her native language. Sympathy for Sam because he had lost his wife. It didn’t excuse his current bigotry, of course, but as a cop, Maggie had seen just what kinds of irrational demands and actions a person consumed by grief could make.

“After that, I just stopped speaking it. The Gulf War started up and then 9/11 happened ten years after that, so speaking Arabic in public wasn’t the best idea.” Lucy pursed her lips. “And now with the current political climate, speaking anything other than English is…”

“A pain because you’ve got the assholes that insist that you should speak English only,” Maggie finished, rolling her eyes. Those people bothered her too. America was not a land with a single language.

“Yeah.”

The two fell into an easy silence. It didn’t last long before Maggie spoke up.

“Could you tell me something in Arabic?” she asked.

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

Maggie backtracked immediately. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she sputtered.

Lucy chuckled. “I’m just messing with you, Mags,” she said. She tilted her head. “What do you want to hear?”

Maggie shrugged. “I don’t know, anything?”

A thoughtful look crossed Lucy’s face as she thought of what to say. Then, “Ahnt jamilah jiddaan.”

Maggie tilted her head. “And that means…?”

Lucy grinned. “You are so beautiful,” she said.

Maggie blushed. She cleared her throat. “What else have you got, Lane?”

Lucy walked around the island to stand in front of Maggie. She wrapped her arms around Maggie’s shoulders.

“Ahbek, Maggie,” she murmured before she gently kissed Maggie.

Maggie quickly deepened it. She started to run her fingers through Lucy’s hair, only to freeze when the oven beeped.

They broke apart with simultaneous groans.

“What did that mean?” Maggie asked, slightly breathless.

Lucy smiled. “I love you.”

The oven beeped again, letting them know that it was finished with the mac and cheese, but Maggie elected to ignore it in favour of kissing Lucy again.

“Te amo tambien,” she said warmly.

The oven beeped for a third time, sounding particularly angry as it did so.

Maggie glanced at it and pulled away. “I should probably get that,” she said. “Otherwise it’s going to be mac and charcoal instead of mac and cheese.”

“I’d be very disappointed if that happened,” Lucy said. “I was promised mac and cheese after all.”

Maggie hummed and grabbed pot holders.

Lucy rested against the counter, watching fondly as Maggie remove their dinner. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be in a polyamorous relationship with Alex and Maggie, she would have laughed and then punched the daylights out of them. Now, she couldn’t imagine her life without them.

Maggie swore angrily as a bit of the metal pan caught her hand

Lucy sighed and shook her head, unable to suppress the smile on her face as she went to go help her girlfriend.

_I wouldn’t trade them for anything._


	22. Tears - Supercorp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is plagued by memories. Lena's there to soothe them away and remind Kara that she isn't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was partially inspired by a request from a review left on Chapter 20 by torie satterfield.

Kara shot up with gasp, a scream dying in her throat. Her chest heaved as her lungs greedily sucked down air. She leaned forward and pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes.

She took a deep breath. 

_ Chavh. Tav. Non. Te-- _

Her thoughts stuttered to a stop when she felt the bed shift. 

“Mmmph…Kara?” Lena asked, voice thick with sleep. 

Kara sat froze, not daring to move. 

Lena rubbed her eyes to clear the sleep from them. She sat up immediately when she realised that Kara was distressed. 

“Kara, honey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Kara lied immediately. She winced at how high pitched and panicked her voice sounded. 

Lena shifted closer to her wife. “Kara?” She placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Talk to me, please. What happened?”

Kara closed her eyes.

_ Furious shouting from her father as he argued with his brother. _

_ A final, sad smile from her mother.  _

_ A soundless explosion as billions perished in a flash. _

_ Stars twinkling on, like nothing was wrong. _

_ An endless void. _

_ Crushing silence. _

“…Kara!” 

Kara blinked. Her head was spinning. Lena’s hands was against resting against her face, thumbs worriedly caressing under her eyes.

“Breathe,” Lena urged. 

Kara took a shuddering breath. 

“There we go.” She rubbed Kara’s back. “Just keep breathing. I’m right here.”

Kara took a few more deep breaths as Lena kept up her gentle ministrations. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lena asked once Kara’s breathing had evened out.

Kara bit her lip. 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Lena assured her. “We can just sit here and cuddle.”

Kara shook her head. “No, it’s fine, I can…” she swallowed. “I can talk about it.”

Lena said nothing. She continued to rub her wife’s back as she waited for her to speak. 

“It was…a nightmare,” Kara started slowly. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Or a memory.”

“Of what?” Lena asked softly.

“Krypton.” Kara swallowed heavily. “The last moments with my mother. How the stars kept shining like billions hadn’t just died. The Phantom Zone. Silence.”

She let a shuddering breath. She clenched her fists as she fought back tears. 

Lena reached behind herself and clicked the remote on her bedside table. A warm hum filled the air. 

Kara looked up, brow furrowed in confusion at the noise. She tilted her head as she tried to figure out where she had heard it before. Then, recognition set in. 

“That’s the…”

“Sounds that would play in the Science Guild halls?” Lena asked.

Kara nodded, stunned. “How…?”

“I asked Alex if she could find Kryptonian sound files and it happened to be one of them” she said. “You hate silence, so I figured that I would try to come up with something to fill it.”

The sounds that reverberated through the room brought forth memories of a different time, a better time before Kara had lost everything. She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She turned and wrapped her arms around Lena’s shoulder, burying her face into the crook of Lena’s neck as she started to weep. 

Lena panicked. “I didn’t mean to make you cry!” she rushed out. “I just wanted to help--”

Kara shook her head. “You did,” she choked out. “You did.” 

Lena held Kara as she wept against her shoulder. She ran her fingers through Kara’s hair. 

_ “Nahn khuhp otem, Kara, _ ” she whispered.

Kara cried harder at the sound of her native language coming from her wife’s lips. The pronunciation wasn’t perfect, and it wouldn’t be because human vocal cords just couldn’t make some of the noises that Kryptonian ones could, but it was the thought that counted. 

Lena pressed a gentle kiss against the side of Kara’s head. “I’m right here, Kara,” she said again, this time in English. “I’m right here.”

“Thank you,” Kara managed out around her sobs.

Lena kissed her.  _ “:Zhao khuhp rrip,”  _ she murmured against Kara’s lips.

Kara pressed her forehead against Lena’s.  _ “:Zhao khuhp rrip vahdhan.” _

Lena settled back, pulling Kara down with her. She continued to murmur soft reassurances until Kara’s tears tapered off as she dozed off, emotionally drained from her memories. Lena lifted her head slightly to look at the sleeping face of her wife. She kissed Kara’s forehead one last time before she finally fell asleep.

Neither Kara nor Lena stirred the rest of the night. They slept peacefully in each others, undisturbed by memories or nightmares. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> “:Zhao khuhp rrip" I love you  
> “:Zhao khuhp rrip vahdhan" I love you too


	23. Club - Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight club!AU feat. Bitter Dr. Alex and former Marine Maggie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Further fics may be delayed bc family drama’s arrived at home. Apologies.

Maggie’s left eye was starting to swell shut. It was the only reason she didn’t dodge the cheap punch Mike threw her way.

Her snapped back. She stumbled back and caught herself on the ring railing. She licked her lip and tasted blood on her tongue. 

Mike continued to advance towards her, a vicious grin on his face.

She turned her head and spit in annoyance. “Cheap shots all you have, Gand?” she mocked.

His eyes darkened with anger. Maggie resisted the urge to smirk. He took two quick steps towards her, arm pulled back to deliver a punch that had a proven track record of breaking the jaws of lesser men. Unfortunately for him, as former Marine, Maggie was anything but. 

She intercepted his punch with ease and used his momentum to throw him to the ground in a single fluid motion. He hit the ground with a bone jarring thud. He had no time to recover before he found his arm in an armbar.

“Tap out!” Maggie snarled. 

“Fuck you!” he spit.

Maggie pulled his arm tighter. “Tap. Out.” She could feel the joint starting to give from the strain she was putting on it.

“Never!” He was started to sweat from the pain and bit back a whimper.

Maggie’s jaw tightened. “Have it your way then.” That was Mike’s only warning before she arched her hips and pulled his arm even further.

Mike let out a scream as he felt the tendon in his arm tear seconds before his shoulder dislocated. His head lolled to the side moments later as the pain knocked him out.

Maggie released him as soon as she felt him go limp under her. She rolled back and pushed herself on to her feet. She took a step back as the noise of the crowd finally registered with her ears. 

M’gann knelt down next to Mike, checked his pulse, and nodded. For better or worse, he was still alive. She raised a hand. 

“Sawyer wins the match!” she declared.

If it was possible, the shouting grew even louder as people who had bet on Mike’s victory suddenly found themselves without a great deal of money. Maggie ignored them. She rolled her shoulders as a team of medics swarmed. She watched with her one good eye as they lifted an unconscious Mike onto a stretcher and hurried him to the medbay. 

Maggie sighed when her shoulder twinged.  _ Might as well follow. _

She followed them, ignoring the furious sports bettors screaming obscenities at her back and at each other.

-

Maggie walked into the medbay to see a redhead woman scowling over a chart as she argued with a man. She licked her lips.

_ She’s cute. _

“No, Max, I can’t treat him here,” Maggie heard her say.

“C’mon Alex, do you know how much money is at stake tonight if he doesn’t get back into the ring?” Max demanded.

The redhead, Alex, snapped the chart shut. “I don’t give a damn,” she growled at him. “He needs to go to an actual hospital to have surgery done on that arm if he ever wants to use it again.”

“Dammit Alex--” He tried only to have Alex turn away from him to address a nurse.

“Vasquez.”

“Yes, Dr. Danvers?” 

“Arrange for Mike to be transported to National City Mercy Hospital,” she ordered.

“Understood, Dr. Danvers.” 

Vasquez quickly hurried off to make the appropriate calls. Alex turned back to Max. 

“If that’s all, I’m going to ask that you leave because I have patients that I need to tend to.” She glanced around him at Maggie. “Like her.”

Max turned. His eyes narrowed when he saw Maggie.

“This isn’t over, Danvers,” he snarled.

“Considering Mike will be headed into surgery in the next few hours and won’t be fighting in the foreseeable, yes it is,” she replied dryly.

Max stormed away from her. He paused right by Maggie on his way out.

“You have no idea what you’ve started,” he hissed.

Maggie shrugged. “I don’t really give a damn,” she told him. Men like Maxwell Lord didn’t scare her, not anymore. 

He gave her one, final hateful look before exiting the medbay.

Maggie shook her head and walked up to Alex. 

“You got something to treat this?” she asked, pointing to her eye.

“Yeah, go sit on that bed over there.”

-

Maggie hissed as Alex stitched the cut above her eyebrow.

“There, done.” Alex clipped the last stitch and put the tools down. She proceeded to grab an ice pack and handed it to Maggie. “Put that over the rest of your face. It’ll reduce the swelling.”

Maggie took the ice pack. “Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got terrible bedside manners, Doc?” she questioned dryly, pressing the compress to her face.

“Many people. That’s why I work here,” Was Alex’s blunt response. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Maggie sighed. “I’m Maggie Sawyer, by the way,” she said. “I don’t know if you caught that before you started working on me.

Alex glanced over her shoulder from her desk. “I did. Everyone here knows your name now, considering that you beat one of the favourites.” She went back to her paperwork.

Maggie lowered the ice pack. “Someone piss in your coffee tonight, Doc?” she asked. 

Alex just grunted. 

Maggie rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Are you naturally this bitchy or is it just me?” she asked.  

Alex looked up from her paperwork and glanced over her shoulder again. “I’m not here to make friends, Sawyer,” she said coolly. “I have a job to do. I can either do that job, or talk about it.”

Maggie let out a breath. She hopped off the bed. “Well, I’ll just see myself out then,” she said, ice pack in hand. “I can see that you’re not interested in the latter option.”

Alex hummed. 

-

Maggie walked into the coffee shop. She wasn’t surprised to see that just about every table was full. She was surprised, however, to see Alex sitting at one of those tables. 

“Danvers?” she asked cautiously, making her approach.

Alex looked up. “Sawyer,” she greeted. “What brings you here?”

Maggie pointed to the counter behind herself with her thumb. “Heard they have a fantastic red eye here,” she said.

“That they do.” Alex absently jotted a few things down onto one of the charts in front of her. “Are you standing there for particular reason or are you actually going to go order something?”

Maggie shrugged. “Depends.”

“Oh what?” Was Alex’s disinterested question.

“On if I can take the seat across from you.” 

Alex glanced back up from her paperwork. “Excuse me?” 

“Everywhere else is full and I’d like to get off my feet.” Maggie flashed her a grin.

Alex sighed. “Fine.”

-

“So, why the fight club?” Maggie asked as soon as she sat down.

“It’s a good paycheck,” Alex replied blandly. “Less bureaucracy than an actual hospital.”

“Uh huh.” Maggie took a sip of her coffee. “Did you actually graduate from medical school or…?”

“Graduated from Stanford, MD/PhD,” Alex said without looking up from her charts. “Passed my boards, but left before I finished my residency.”

“I feel like there’s a serious story to unpack there,” Maggie remarked.

“There is, not that it’s any of your business.”

Maggie fought the urge to rub her temples in exasperation. “Look, I’m not trying to start a fight, Danvers--”

“Right.”

“I just want to get to know you as a person, you know? Because we work together?”

Alex sighed and closed the folder. “We don’t actually, Sawyer.” She lowered her voice. “You and everyone else in that club get yourselves beat six ways to Sunday and I’m just there to patch you all up so you can do it all over again.”

“Danvers--”

“Like I told you a before, I’m not at the club to make friends, I’m there to do my job.” Alex got up and stuffed her charts into her bag. She was gone before Maggie could say another word.

Maggie exhaled harshly. 

_ Damnit.  _

-

“I’m a Marine,” Maggie said the next time she was in the medbay. Alex was stitching up her shoulder. There was no other reaction to her statement other than a raised eyebrow. “I used to be a Marine. Gunnery Sergeant,” she corrected. “I, uh, I was discharged.”

“Clearly.” Alex threw another stitch through the skin. “Why were you discharged?”

Maggie did her best to hide her surprise at Alex finally engaging in her conversation.

“I’m gay.” She saw Alex’s stiffen and fought the urge to face palm.  _ Nice going, Sawyer.  _ “Military doesn’t take too kindly to gay soldiers of any branch. I got outed one day and found myself kicked out the next.”

“I’m sorry,” Alex murmured. 

Maggie gave a half shrug with her good shoulder. “I’ve had my time to make my peace with it.” 

“Uh huh. And that’s why you’re here. Because you’re over it.”

“It’s cheaper than therapy.” She had lost everything: her job, her family, her health insurance, when she was discharged.

“Fair enough.”

An easy silence settled between them as Alex continued to work on Maggie’s shoulder.

“My dad died,” Alex said after a while, breaking the silence. She glanced at Maggie. “That’s how my story starts. He died during my last year of residency, right before I took my boards.”

“Shit.” Now Maggie felt terrible. “I’m sorry, I never would have asked the first time if I’d known--”

“It’s fine.” She gave Maggie a small smile. “I’ve had my time to make peace with it,” she said, echoing Maggie’s earlier words.

“And that’s why you’re here. Because you’re over it,” Maggie responded, a cheeky grin on her face.

“Something like that.” Alex tied off the last stitch and reached for a pair of scissors. “I didn’t find out he was dead until after I got back from my boards.”

“No shit.”

“Mhm.” Alex cut the suture thread. “My mother, a doctor herself, decided not to tell me he was dead until I got back.” She grabbed a gauze pad and pressed it lightly to the sound. “She let me prattle on about dinner with my dad and my sister before telling me it wasn’t going to happen because he was dead.” 

“Your mother sounds like a wonderful woman,” Maggie remarked dryly. 

“Yup.” Alex grabbed some medical tape to secure the gauze to Maggie’s shoulder. “Had a huge argument with her over it and ended up resigning from the program a few days later.”

Maggie let out a low whistle. “Damn, Danvers,” she said.

“Even if my dad hadn’t died when he did, that argument was a long time coming.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Alex finished tapping up Maggie’s wound. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it another time.”

Maggie resisted the urge to pout. “That’s just mean, Danvers.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Get out of my medbay, Sawyer.”

-

“I’m gay,” Alex told Maggie, handing her an ice pack after her most recent fight.

“You’re what?” Maggie blinked, not quite sure she had heard correctly. 

“Gay. Lesbian. Lady lover. Sapphic,” Alex recited only to get cut off by Maggie’s chuckle.

“I gotcha, Danvers.” Maggie tilted her head. “Don’t get me wrong here, but why exactly did you just tell me that?”

“That’s what the argument would’ve been about, had my dad not died when he did,” Alex said with a shrug. “Mom found out through the hospital grape vine that I’d started to enjoy the company of female nurses.”

“I’m guessing she didn’t take it well.”

“At first, not really, no. Dad talked to her and got her to back down. Then he died.”

“And she stopped being okay with it?”

“No,” Alex shook her head. “But she used it as an excuse to fight.”

“Your mom sucks, Danvers.”

“Sometimes, yeah.” Alex tapped the ice pack to Maggie’s knee.

“Danvers?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

-

“Sawyer.”

Maggie stopped when she heard Lord’s voice behind her. She glance over her shoulder to see him approaching her, flanked by two bodyguards. 

“Mr. Lord,” she greeted coolly. She kept her body relaxed, careful not to telegraph a potential move one way or another. “Is there something I can do for you?” 

“There is, actually, yeah.” He gave her a fake smile that sent chills down her spine. “You can throw the next fight.”

“Excuse me?” 

“You heard me.” He leaned in and placed his hand behind her head, pressing her against the wall. “You’re going to throw the fight tonight.”

“And why the hell would I do that?” she demanded and took a step forward, only to freeze when Lord pulled a knife to her neck.

“Because me and a lot of other people, people who are much better off you, have a lot riding on tonight’s fight,” he said casually, like he was just discussing the weather instead of holding a knife to a woman’s neck. “And we need the other guy to win.”

“That’s not my problem,” Maggie retorted.

She stiffened when Lord pressed the knife tighter against her skin.

“It can be, Sawyer.” He pulled away. “So, be smart about this: throw the fight and you get to walk home tonight.”

Maggie glared and said nothing. 

“I look forward to seeing you in the ring, tonight, Sawyer.” He sheathed the knife and walked away. His cronies lingered for a few more moments before departing themselves, leaving a fuming Maggie behind.

Once Lord and his henchmen gone, she let out an annoyed breath. Throw the fight? She scoffed. She was a goddamn Marine. She ran towards fights, not away from them.

-

Maggie stood in the ring as she waited for the next fighter, Rick, to show up. She absently rolled her shoulders back while she took in the crowd around her. She didn’t miss the looks of disdain many of tonight’s patrons were sending her way. She could tell that these people were the ones Lord had been talking about. She fought the urge to smirk. 

_ Sucks to suck, boys.  _

She continued to look around. She was surprised to see Alex standing amongst the crowd. She couldn’t help the flip her stomach made at the sight of Alex. The doctor rarely attended the fights, preferring to stay in the medbay. Why she was here, Maggie didn’t know. There was a look on Alex’s face but Maggie didn’t have time to unpack it because a roar caught her attention. 

She glanced to her right to see Rick finally walk in. She turned to face him. For someone who was pegged to be the favourite for tonight, he didn’t look all that impressive. But as a former MP, Maggie knew that looks could be deceiving. There was something in his eyes that unnerved her.

Both of them stepped to the middle of the ring, where M’gann was waiting for them. 

“You both know the rules by now,” she said. “Fight ends when one of you is either unconscious or taps out. If you both get knocked out, whoever hits the ground last wins. Understood?”

Maggie and Rick nodded.

M’gann stepped back. “Begin!”

Maggie immediately tuned out the noise around her and focused on her opponent. She adjusted her stance just as he charged forward. She quickly dodged two punches and blocked a third one before launching her own. 

She watched, with no small amount of satisfaction, as his head snapped back from the force of her blow. That satisfaction was quickly replaced with dismay when his head returned forward. Now that they were actually face to face, Maggie could see that Rick’s pupils were blown, not from a head wound but from…

_ Shit.  _ He was on something. Before Maggie could call out to M’gann, Rick closed the distance between them the launched a vicious spartan kick to Maggie’s abdomen that sent her flying across the ring. She grunted as her back slammed against the wall. 

_ On your feet Marine!  _ Maggie could hear her old drill instructor railing at her in the back of her head. 

She pushed herself to her feet, coughing. She heard a shout and looked up just in time to see a sheen of silver. She dodged on instinct and saw the knife narrowly miss her. 

_ Fuck. _

Maggie immediately went on the defensive. She couldn’t do anything in the face of a flurry of knife slashes, other than dodge. She noticed M’gann trying to get close and quickly waved her off. It would be best of M’gann just left it to her. She had the training. Now, all she needed was an opening. Like the one right…

_ There! _ Rick had just over extended himself.

Maggie quickly side stepped to the left, parrying the blow. She grabbed his arm and pulled him forward even further, twisting as she did so. She exerted a little pressure on his wrist which caused him to release the knife. She caught it as it fell and kicked his knee. He dropped down, snarling. Before he could get back up, Maggie flipped the knife in her hand and drove it between his ribs. 

Rick stiffened. He coughed once and looked like he was about to try to get up. Maggie was having none of it. She smashed her elbow into the side of his head and knocked him out cold. 

Maggie stood, chest heaving. She glanced at M’gann who promptly rushed over. 

M’gann knelt down and checked Rick over. He was alive, barely. She glanced up at Maggie.

“He’s on something, PCP, maybe,” Maggie said. 

M’gann nodded. She waved the medical team over and stood. 

“Sawyer wins the match!” she declared.

Furious shouting broke out. Maggie tuned them all out. She turned to go back to the locker rooms and met Lord’s eyes on the way out. They were filled with fury. 

Maggie smirked at him. She missed the look of fear Alex sent her way.

-

“I told you to throw that fight,” Lord’s angry voice sounded behind Maggie.

She turned. “Look, I’m not going to take orders from some rich white—urk!” She froze. 

Lord had sunk a knife into her gut. 

Maggie coughed once and immediately tasted blood.

_ Shit. _

Lord gave her a victorious smirk. “It’s such a shame,” he said. He moved to twist the knife deeper. Maggie gripped his hand, trying to stop him. “But you really should have list—”

Maggie broke his hand.

Lord yelled in pain and stepped back. It proved to be a drastic mistake on his part.

Maggie pressed a hand to hold the knife in place and move to the left. With her free hand, she grabbed the back of Lord’s head and smashed into the lockers once, twice, a third time. She let go of his and let him slide to the floor, his face leaving a bloody trail against the metal as he did so.

Maggie let out a few shaky breaths.  _ Medbay. Alex. Have to get to Alex.  _ She could feel her hand growing wetter with each passing second. She reached back into her locker and grabbed her KARBAR. Something told her she was going to need it. 

She stumbled out of the locker rooms and immediately came upon Lord’s bodyguards. They were taken aback by the sight of her standing in front of them, still breathing. She used it to her advantage. Before they could react, Maggie stabbed one of them in the kidneys. She quickly dropped to a knee, half to dodge the punch from his partner and half to cope with a wave of vertigo that hit her. From her position, she sank her knife into his partner’s femoral artery and pulled, shredding his leg. He went down. 

Maggie fumbled for the wall and pulled herself to her feet. Sweat was starting to bead on her forehead. She slowly made her way to the medbay, leaving Lord’s henchmen to bleed out in the hallway.

_ One foot in front of the other, Sawyer.  _

Maggie kept her eyes on the ground. She was having trouble breathing now. She glanced up to see the doors of the medbay. A sense of relief flooded through her at the sight. She reached out and managed to push the doors open slightly. Then, she collapsed.

The last thing she heard was someone shouting for Alex.

-

“Dr. Danvers!” Alex looked up at Vasquez’s panicked shout. “Come quick!”

She hurried to the front of the medbay and froze. It was Maggie. Maggie, who had a knife in her stomach and was covered in blood. She heard several stuttered breaths leave Maggie’s lips and jumped into action.

“Vasquez, I need betadine, gloves, and chest tubes,” she snapped, rushing to Maggie’s side. “Demos, clear the gurney bay.”

“Do you want me to call NCMH and tell them that there’s a stab wound inbound?” He asked.

Alex ripped Maggie’s tank top. “There’s no time.” She grabbed the betadine from Vasquez, splashing it over her hands, Maggie wound, and pulled the gloves on. She took the scalpel from them and made the first cut. “I’m doing this here.”

-

Maggie stirred. Her head felt heavy and her chest felt like an elephant had stomped on it. Her head lolled to the side where she saw a beautiful redhead.

“Are you...are you an angel?” She asked hoarsely.

“Maggie!” She grunted when a light was shone into her eyes. “Follow the light for me.” Maggie obliged. “Good. Neuro exam looks good.” 

The light flicked off. “How’re you feeling?”

“Good...floaty,” She slurred out. “Good shit.”

The redhead laughed. “That good shit would be the morphine.”

Maggie nodded. “Sweet…” She grinned at her. “Probably not as sweet as you, though. Who are you?.”

The redhead’s face suddenly matched her hair. She coughed. “I’m Alex.”

“Are we friends?”

“We’re starting to be, I think.”

“You’re super pretty, Alex,” Maggie said. “You and me should go out on a date sometime.”

Alex ran her fingers through Maggie’s hair. “I’d love to,” she said, her voice soft. “But ask me again when you’re not high as a kite, Sawyer.”

“‘M ‘kay,” Maggie slurred around a yawn. “‘M tired…”

“It’s the morphine,” Alex told her. “Get some sleep.”

Maggie’s eyes slipped shut.

-

Maggie shot up. “Ack!” She immediately doubles over as pain seared through her abdomen.

“Easy!” She felt hands on her shoulders. She turned to see Alex standing next to her. “Easy, just breathe.”

Maggie took a few shuddering breaths. 

“There we go,” Alex soothed. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I got stabbed.” Alex gave her a droll look. Maggie shrugged as best she could. “I’m a Marine, I’ve had worse.” 

Maggie looked around. “Where am I?” She asked. The room she was in looked nothing like the medbay of the fight club.

Alex’s cheeks turned pink. “My apartment,” she said. “It was easier for me to keep an eye on you while you were recovering.”

Maggie nodded. “Makes sense.” A sense of foreboding stroke her. “Uh, did anything happen while I was out or…?”

“You mean aside from you asking me out on a date while you were high as a kite?” Alex asked.

“Oh, god.”

“Then, no.”

“I’m so sorry,” Maggie apologised. 

“Why?” Alex raised an eyebrow. “You suddenly change your mind about it?”

Maggie’s mind screeched to a halt. “What?” 

Alex chuckled. She squeezed Maggie’s non-IV containing hand.

“Unless you’ve seriously changed your mind, I’m saying yes to a date with you, Sawyer.” 

“Holy shit.”

Alex hummed. “So, you open to a date with me despite no longer being high as a kite.”

“Fuck. Yes.”


	24. Colours - Director Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy hates two things: the colour red and waiting. Maggie hates one of those things and can understand the other. And Alex? Alex is just trying to survive.

Red. Lucy hated the colour red. It clashed too much with Signal Corps orange and it never failed to remind her of Marie’s favourite jumpers. It was also the colour of blood, something that she had see far too much of in her lifetime. 

She couldn’t breathe. She stood outside of the DEO’s medbay, covered in Alex’s blood, and watched as Hamilton and the other frantically worked to save Alex’s life. 

“Lucy!”

She turned to see Maggie running towards her. The fear in her eyes made Lucy’s stomach twist. 

“What happened?” she demanded, sliding the last few steps towards her.

“I, there was,” Lucy choked out. “I never saw it coming, Mags.”

The car had come out of nowhere and Lucy hadn’t seen it. But Alex did. Alex, the squishy human with anger issues and a possible drinking problem, Alex, Supergirl’s protector, Alex, one of the women Lucy loved, had seen it coming. She had pushed Lucy out of the way and took the brunt of the blow, landing in a broken, bloody heap several feet away.

Maggie brushed a hand against Lucy’s face. “Lucy, sweetheart, you’re not making any sense,” she said softly. 

“The car. It was a car. I didn’t see it Maggie.”

Understanding dawned on Maggie. She took Lucy’s hands, ignoring how sticky Alex’s blood was against her skin, diverting her attention away from the frantic work in the medbay.

“C’mon, let’s go get you cleaned up, okay?” she said. “We can talk about this more later, alright?”

Lucy was too numb to do anything other than nod and allow Maggie to lead her to the showers. 

-

Lucy watched the plate in the microwave spin as she heated up a burrito. It had been hours since they had taken Alex back for surgery, hour since she and Maggie had heard anything. Sometime between her taking a shower and now, Maggie had gently coaxed her back to the breakroom to grab a bite to eat all the while doing her best to not let Lucy see just how close she was to falling apart herself. But Lucy saw; she noticed everything. 

_ Except the damn car. _

Vasquez slid into the room, catching both Maggie and Lucy’s attentions. 

“Director Lane, they found the guy who hit Agent Danvers, ma’am,” they announced, chest heaving. It was obvious they had run the length of the building to come deliver the news in person.

“That was fast,” Maggie said.

“Who is he?” Lucy demanded.

“A kid hopped up on PCP and coke,” Vasquez replied.

“Human?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Maggie and Lucy were flabbergasted. Some human had managed to take their lover down? Some stupid, drugged up kid  been able to ram his car into Alex and toss her about like she was nothing, like she weighed no more than a bag of feathers? 

“Where is he?” Lucy questioned. 

“NCPD holding,” Vasquez said. 

Lucy moved to leave but found herself stopped by Vasquez blocking the entryway. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice low.

“I’m under orders to make sure that you don’t leave the building, ma’am,” they said apologetically. 

“As the Director of the DEO, I’m overriding those orders,” she said.

“Director J’onzz outranks you, ma’am.”

Lucy’s jaw tightened. She took a step towards Vasquez and found herself staring down the barrel of their gun. She heard Maggie pull her own weapon in response. 

“Agent Vasquez--”

“Director Lane, Lucy, please stand down,” they pleaded. “I get that you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but going out and killing a kid isn’t going to make things better.”

“I’m not going to kill him,” Lucy retorted. “I’m just going to…”  _ Drop him down a hole so deep, he’ll never see the light of day again. _

“Luce.” She felt Maggie place her hand on her shoulder. “Babe, listen to Vasquez. I know you’re angry, I am too, but the guy who did this, he’s just a kid.”

Lucy’s jaw tightened even further, but finally, the logical side of her kicked in. 

“What’s he being charged with?” she asked, directing her question to Vasquez.

“DUI, hit and run, failure to yield, attempted vehicular manslaughter,” Vasquez rattled off, having been briefed by J’onn before being sent to the breakroom. “Illegal possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at that last one. “Intent to distribute?”

“They found two kilos of cocaine in his trunk.”

“Is he white?” Maggie asked, half jokingly. 

“Yeah.”

“They’ll let him plead down for the drug possession and distribution,” Lucy muttered.

“A plea for two kilos?” Maggie asked, eyebrow raised. “I doubt it.”

“He’s white, Mags, you know how it is,” Lucy remarked. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweats as her mind turned the charges over in her mind. “Any other charges?”

“Attempted murder of a federal agent.”

Lucy nodded. “I can work with that.” Unethical as it might have been, she was going to have the DEO’s legal department press hard on that charge so that he wouldn’t be able to plead out.

Lucy sighed and closed her eyes. Before she could say anything else, Hamilton poked her head into the breakroom. She froze when she the guns drawn. 

Maggie and Vasquez quickly holstered their weapons.

Lucy glanced at Hamilton and worked to keep her face expressionless. “Yes?”

Hamilton straightened. “Agent Danvers is out of surgery,” she informed them. 

“Is…is she going to make a full recovery?” Maggie asked.

None of them missed how Hamilton’s jaw clenched. “She made it through surgery,” she said again.   

Lucy rubbed the bridge of her nose. She and Maggie had been with Alex long enough to know what that meant. 

“Can she have visitors?” she asked quietly.

“Of course.”

-

Lucy hated the colour red, but right now, sitting in Alex’s recovery room alongside Maggie, she would give anything to see that colour return to Alex’s lips. Her face was a mess of purple bruises while her lips were almost white. 

“She’s going to be okay,” Maggie whispered. She took one of Alex’s hand and ran her thumb along the back of it. “She’s going to be okay.”

Lucy didn’t know who Maggie was trying to convince: the both of them or just herself. 

“Yeah,” Lucy said quietly. She wrapped an arm around Maggie’s shoulders, pulling her close. She kissed the side of Maggie’s head and tried her best not to dwell on the harsh possible reality that they could face soon.

“This isn’t on you, Luce,” Maggie murmured. She glanced at her girlfriend. “You know that, right?”

Lucy bit her lip. “I should have seen it coming,” she said quietly. 

“You couldn’t have. You said it yourself, he came out of nowhere,” Maggie pointed out.

“Alex saw him coming.”

“Alex is trained to.”

Lucy opened her mouth to protest, only to be silenced by Maggie’s finger against her lips. 

“I know you have training too, babe, but Alex’s training is different and more extreme, and we both know it.”

Lucy sighed. “Yeah.” She looked at Alex and swallowed. Their lover was a mess of tubes and wires. She looked nothing like the snarky badass that she and Maggie had woken up next to this morning. “I should have been faster.”

Maggie leaned up and kissed Lucy’s cheek. “You were fast enough,” she told her. “You got Alex here in time.”

“She might not make it,” Lucy whispered, her voice cracking.

Maggie’s grip tightened around her hand. “She might not. But that’s not on you. It’s on the guy who decided to get hopped up on PCP and coke and go for a drive.” Maggie had to blink back tears before she continued. “And she might make it, Luce. Because this is Alex we’re talking about.”

“Yeah.” Lucy nodded. She had to blink back tears. She reached and grabbed Alex’s other hand. “Yeah.”

Alex’s hand twitched. 


	25. Blanket - Director Sanvers, feat. Dylan Olsen-Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex likes sewing. It's practical work and monotonous enough to keep the memories at bay. Unfortunately, it can't keep the what ifs away.

Alex knew how to sew. She was good at it and it was something that she enjoyed. It was practical and monotonous work that let her practice suturing while tuning out the rest of the world as she poked and pulled thread through fabric for hours. During her downtime or even during one of her rare breaks at the DEO, it wasn’t uncommon to find her sitting on a bench quietly stitching together a uniform shirt or some random scrap of fabric. 

As open as she was about her sewing, Alex kept her enjoyment of it a secret. She would brush off compliments about her stitching and rebuff requests that she make something else, claiming that she only knew basic clothing repair. No one ever called her out on it; they all knew she would break them in half if they did.

Then, Lucy and Maggie entered her life. They both complemented her work and often would spend hours just watching her sew. 

_ I’m sure there are more interesting things to watch,  _ she had remarked one night while working.

_ I dunno, Danvers, I’m really liking the way your hands are moving, _ Maggie had said, a cheeky grin on her face.

_ They’re surprisingly agile,  _ Lucy had added, matching Maggie’s grin as Alex’s face had turned bright red.

Before she knew it, she being more open about what she did. She made little gifts for them, like a stuffed animal version of Ripley for Lucy.

_ Not as cute as the real thing,  _ Alex had said.  _ But hopefully just as fluffy. _

Or a recreation of Maggie’s favourite teddy bear that had been destroyed during her time in Gotham following a surprise attack from Killer Croc.

_ I know he’s probably not quite the same, but I went off the pictures you have and what you told me, so I hope I’m close.  _

Then, Dylan was born. Stuffed Ripley and Maggie’s teddy bear found their way into his crib. As time went on, Alex entertained the idea of making something for him, something that he could call his own for however long he wanted to. She kept her plans a secret from Maggie, Lucy, Kara, and James, because she wanted it to be a surprise for everyone. Before she could start, though, she and Dylan were kidnapped by Rick. 

It was the worst 36 hours of her life. Rick had kept Dylan in the dark, just out of her reach so that she could hear him but not see him. Dylan had spent hours wailing in fear, despite her efforts to keep him calm. And then he fell silent. Alex had never been more terrified than when Dylan stopped crying. It was only when he started to cry again did she feel like she could breathe. The cycle went on for hours. Throughout it all, the logical side of her knew that Dylan was just crying himself to sleep, but the parent in her feared that he had died as soon as his tears stopped. 

When she woke up in the DEO medbay after their rescue, she saw Dylan in a crib to her right, fast asleep. She had poked her fingers through his crib, brushed them against his skin, and started crying at the warmth. It alleviated her fear, but only just.

It was why she was sitting on the ground in Dylan’s bedroom in the middle of the night, with her back against the leg of his crib. A large swath of fabric lay across her lap as she quietly sewed and listened to his breathing. 

A soft little inhale. Alex poked the needle through the blanket. 

A gentle snore. Alex pulled the needle through.

Every so often, Dylan would start to fuss in his sleep. Alex quietly hummed a few bars of a Barenaked Ladies song that she knew he liked and he would settle back down.

It went on for hours. Alex lost herself to the sound of Dylan breathing and her work. 

Needle in. A soft little inhale.

Pull it through. A tiny snore.

Alex was so focused on what she was doing, she missed Maggie coming into Dylan’s room.

“Alex?”

Alex jerked and swore when the needle pricked her finger. “Fuck!” She sucked on her finger and looked up. “Oh, hey.”

Maggie sat down next to her. “What’re you working on?” she asked, deciding not to draw attention to the fact that this was the second night in a row she and Lucy had noticed Alex disappearing from their bed.

“A blanket, for Dylan.” Alex went back to sewing. 

Maggie leaned forward to examine the blanket. It was almost finished, making it obvious that Alex had been working on it for a while. She smiled at the sight of the dinosaurs Alex was sewing on. Then, she looked a little closer at them.

“...is that dinosaur made out of my University of Nebraska shirt?” she asked, bemused.. 

Alex felt her cheeks heat up at the question. “Yeah.” She bit her lip. “It’s one of your older ones, though. And I was going to get you a new one for Chanukah.”

“Uh huh.” Maggie let her eyes roam over the other dinosaurs that had already been sewn on. She glanced to the pile of discarded clothing: her UNL shirt, one of Lucy’s PT shirts, one of Alex’s Stanford shirts, a cardigan that she thought Kara had lost, James’s most worn sweatshirt. They were all items of clothing that the five of them had worn quite regularly and each of them had similar holes. Realisation dawned on her.

“You’re making the dinosaurs out of our clothes,” she said.

“Yeah.” Alex took a deep breath before starting on her final set of stitches. “He was so scared, Maggie.”

She poked the needle through the dinosaur and the blanket. 

“I tried to keep him calm and let him know that everything was okay, but he just wouldn’t stop crying.”

She pulled it through and flipped it around so that she could go through the fabric again.

“He could hear me, but he couldn’t see me.”

Alex let out a shuddering breath and looked up at Maggie. Maggie could see tears shining in her eyes. 

“I just, I don’t want him to every have to feel that way ever again,” Alex said. “So I’m making this.” She motioned to the nearly-complete blanket. “And I’m using our clothes to make the dinosaurs because--”

“They smell like us,” Maggie finished. 

“Yeah.” Alex nodded. “I saw it when I was in medical school, you’d have a baby who was just screaming, but as soon as you put something that the mum had worn near the kid, they’d start to calm down. I never thought much of it because I was more interested in trauma than I was peds, but now…” She tied off the final stitch and reached for a set of scissors.

“Now it’s all I can think about.” Alex clipped the excess thread and checked the blanket over to make sure there were no surprise needles still pinned to it. She would never forgive herself if Dylan got hurt due to her own carelessness. 

Finding nothing, Alex sighed. “I can’t help but think about the what if,” she mused. “What if Dylan had something like this when Rick took us? Would it have made him feel safer? Would it have made him less scared?”

“Alex…”

Alex waved her off. “I know.” She got up, completed blanket in hand. “I know, there’s no use in dwelling on the what ifs, Mags.”

She draped the blanket over Dylan’s sleeping form. His nose scrunched up and he snuggled into the blanket unconsciously, but otherwise stayed asleep. 

“All I want to do is keep him safe, Maggie,” Alex whispered. 

Maggie got up and pressed herself against Alex’s back. She wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist.

“I know.” She kissed Alex’s cheek. “And you did.”

Alex scoffed. 

“Ally, babe, look at him,” Maggie urged. “He’s okay. He’s asleep, at home with all of us. He’s safe.”

Alex reached down and brushed her fingers against Dylan’s cheek. He kept right on snoring. A faint smile crossed her lips at the sound.

“Yeah.” She swallowed before letting out a short breath. “Speaking of sleep, we, we should probably get back to bed. Luce’ll be mad if she wakes up to a cold bed.”

Maggie chuckled. “True.” She pulled away. “I’ll see you in a few minutes?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, just let me clean up here.”

“Okay.” She quickly made her way out, leaving Alex alone with Dylan. 

Alex sighed. She quietly gathered her sewing supplies, making sure every needle was accounted for before she closed the box. She picked up the clothes and left over fabric and put them on the rocking chair; she would finalise putting them away in the morning.

Once everything was cleaned up, Alex moved the leave. She paused by Dylan’s crib and knelt down. He was still asleep, oblivious to the stress and fear coursing through her.

“Goodnight, bud,” she whispered. “Opie loves you so much.”

She got up and left.

-

When she got to the bedroom, she found Maggie had fallen back asleep. Intent on not waking either her or Lucy, Alex did her best to be silent as she crawled into bed. 

“You okay?”

Alex nearly fell out of bed at the question. She squinted through the darkness to see Lucy wide awake.

“Why are awake?” Alex asked quietly, careful not to disturb Maggie. 

“Because I noticed you were missing.”

“Sorry,” Alex apologised. She settled in the middle of the bed and maneuvered herself so that she was facing Lucy.

Lucy kissed her cheek. “Don’t be.” A beat. “Are you alright, though?”

“I’m fine.” Alex bit her lip. “I was, I was just checking up on Dylan,” she said, her tone making it clear that there just some things that she didn’t want to discuss right now.

“Okay.” She felt Lucy take her hand. “Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you, for keeping him safe.”

“I--” Alex bit her tongue to hold back her response.  _ I didn’t.  _ If she had kept Dylan safe, he never would have been taken by Rick.

Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt Lucy’s lips on hers. 

“You held on,” Lucy whispered against her lips. “You held on and you kept him safe as best you could and you brought him back, Alex, you brought our son back.”

Alex swallowed. She said nothing, fearful that if she did, she would start sobbing. 

“Our son is back, alive and safe and healthy, okay?” 

Alex nodded to the darkness. 

“Dylan is okay. He’s safe.” She felt Lucy’s fingers brush against her cheek. “You’re safe now, too.”

Alex couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She gripped the fabric of Lucy’s sleep shirt and buried her face into the crook of Lucy’s neck as she started to sob. She did her best to muffle her tears. Then, she felt Maggie roll over and kiss her shoulder. 

“We’re right here, Ally,” Maggie whispered. “It’s okay.”

Alex cried harder. Lucy and Maggie continued to murmur soft reassurances all the while. 

It felt like hours before Alex’s tears finally started to taper off. She was so exhausted from everything: the kidnapping, blanket making, crying, that she dozed off shortly thereafter. 

Lucy and Maggie exchanged fond looks in the dark as they listened to Alex’s breathing even out. In a few hours, Lucy would call in sick for Alex and herself while Maggie would call Henderson to see if she could slide Alex in at the last moment. For now, though, they both snuggled closer to Alex and followed her to sleep.


	26. Remembering - Director Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy remembered the day the colours left her world. She never thought she would see them again. Then Alex and Maggie walked into her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU of Closet, where meeting your soulmate lets you see colours. If they die, the colours die with them.

Lucy remembered the day the colours left her life. It had been bright sunny day in Germany when she noticed things growing darker. At first, she thought it was the clouds but when she looked out the window, she found the skies clear as could be. Then, she heard shouting and glanced towards the tv.

The colours kept slipping away as she had watched alongside the rest of her company in stunned silence as the news reports came pouring in. She never said a word. When the towers came down, the colours were gone, replaced by various shades of grey. That was when Lucy knew. A part of her hadn’t want to accept that Marie was gone, but as everything continued to stay grey, she had to face the horrible truth: the woman she loved was dead and she wasn’t coming back.

Six agonising days later, Lucy was back in New York, having secured an emergency assignment back in the states. Instead of driving directly to Fort Drum as ordered, she stopped by Marie’s parents house. She arrived just as some of Marie’s fellows were assuring her parents that Marie was still MIA, that they would find her.

 _You won’t,_ Lucy had said quietly. It was a horrible thing to say.

 _And how do you know?_ Marie’s partner, a stocky man named Joshua Abrahams, had demanded of her.

The expression on her face told everyone in the room what Lucy herself couldn’t say out loud. Lucy just stood there as Marie’s mother began to wail.

The weather on the day of Marie’s funeral matched the weather in Germany the day she had died: sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Lucy stood in the back, stone faced, with the St. Christopher medal around her neck, as Marie’s family lowered an empty coffin into the ground. The greys she saw were as fitting as they were infuriating and they made Lucy want to scream. But she stayed silent.

 _She saw colours after she met you,_ Marie’s sister, Jasmine, had mentioned to her quietly after the funeral. By then, she knew that Lucy had seen them too.

Lucy had said nothing. She couldn’t, not with the lump in her throat. She gave her a curt nod instead.

 _You meant a lot to her, you know._ A sad smile. _She couldn’t wait to see you again._

 _I couldn’t wait either._ Lucy broke down and fell into Jasmine’s arms as she wept.

Lucy never thought she would see colours again. Few people ever did after losing their soulmate. In the beginning it bothered her. Grey skies, grey blankets, a grey jumper of Marie’s that she knew to be red, they were all bitter reminders of Marie’s death. As the years went on, though, the bitterness she felt towards the grey colour pallet faded while her grief remained.

Then, she met Alex. She remembered sitting across the snarky, no-nonsense agent when the colours flickered. For one brief moment, Lucy saw the auburn in Alex hair before things went grey again. It made her stomach flip in a way it hadn’t in years. She brushed it off as nerves before calling Alex out as the liar that she was and having her arrested.

Lucy went home and tried to pretend that nothing was wrong. It didn’t work. She kept seeing flashes of colour. They weren’t complete, but they were there.

A few days later, her conscious reared its ugly head following a visit from Kara and the subsequent revelation that she was Supergirl. The next thing she knew, she was on a motorcycle on her way to free Alex from Colonel Harper’s custody. It was exhilarating, but it did little to stop the butterflies that rose up in her stomach when she saw the auburn in Alex’s hair. The look of wonder in Alex’s eyes when she saw her told Lucy all that she needed to know and it terrified her.

Alex left. Lucy went back to work and tried to pretend that nothing was wrong, that the world was still grey for her as it was for so many others. She tried to rekindle things with James in the hope that being with him would stop the colours. It didn’t. Before things could even really start to pick back up between them, Myriad came online. The last thing that Lucy remembered before the wave hit was Alex’s number appearing on her phone. When she came to, it was to a distraught Alex begging Kara to come back. There was a commotion before she passed out again, this time from the pain caused by the secondary wave.

The second time Lucy woke up, it was to Marie standing over her. Her heart caught in her throat. Then she blinked. Marie vanished. In her place was a sweat soaked Alex and her auburn hair, having just returned from space. Lucy wanted to cry.

_You alright, Lane?_

_Fine, Danvers,_ Lucy had lied. She sat up. _Give me a status report._

The auburn never faded.

A few hours later and Lucy was finally free from the clutches of the medbay. She stood in Kara’s apartment and watch the two sisters interact. Seeing them made her hide her smile behind her beer.

 _Does she know that she makes you see colours?_ James had asked quietly.

Lucy had just shrugged.

 _You should tell her,_ he had said.

_I will, when the time is right._

_When’s that going to be?_

When I’m ready to acknowledge it, is what Lucy wanted to say.

 _When she’s ready to hear it,_ is what she had said instead.

Alex was ready to hear it six months later. Lucy had taken over the Desert Base, half because she was ordered to and half to get away from Alex so that she could ignore the slowly returning colours. It didn’t work. She had been neck deep in paperwork when Vasquez delivered the news: Alex Danvers finally had her big gay awakening and, after a few missteps, was in a relationship with an NCPD cop.

_She’ll be at Quarks this Friday, ma’am. Says she’s going to introduce her new beau then._

She nodded and sent Vasquez on their way. She rubbed her eyes and felt her stomach twist. Time away from Alex had done nothing to stop the colours. If anything, Lucy had started to notice more colours. They weren’t rich nor were they complete, but they were there and they were becoming constant.

Lucy walked into the dive bar that Friday and tripped when she saw Alex and her girlfriend. A flash of rich colour hit her: the neon tubing of the jukebox, the sky blue alien wearing a forest green jumper, the deep black leather jacket that Alex’s girlfriend was wearing. Lucy could see it all. Alex’s girlfriend turned and Lucy stopped breathing. She immediately reminded her of Marie.

Lucy remembered feeling her jaw unhinge slightly as the colours grew brighter, as if to the match the warm smile Alex’s girlfriend was giving off. Then, she blinked. The colours were muted, but they were there. It made her heart ache.

Lucy approached like nothing was wrong. The joy in Alex’s eyes when she realised that Lucy had arrived made it all worth it.

_Glad to see you’re finally out, Danvers._

_You knew?!_

_Of course I knew. We queers signal to each other while in the closet._

Everyone, save for James, Maggie and J’onn, froze.

_You’re…_

_Bi._ That part had gotten so much easier to say over the years. She didn’t mention that she could see colours or that she had met and lost her soulmate. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Maggie falter as she took a closer look at Lucy.

Winn dragged Alex over to the pool table before anyone could say anything else. Lucy flagged down the bartender for a glass of scotch while Maggie glued herself to Lucy’s side.

 _How long have you been seeing colours?_ It was soft.

 _Long enough._ Lucy chose to keep her own her eyes on Alex and Winn at the pool table.

_You ever think about telling her?_

_No._ Lucy had swirled the contents in her glass, ignoring the way Maggie’s gaze burned against her skin. Telling Alex she could see colours would mean having to accept that she had a new soulmate. It would mean facing the reality that Marie was never coming back. Besides, what was the point? Alex was dating Maggie and from the way they interacted, Maggie was Alex’s soulmate as well.

_You should._

_You’re dating her._

_She needs to know. Besides, something tells me she already knows._

_You’re. Dating. Her._ Lucy didn’t know if she wanted to punch Maggie or scream. She wanted the colours to stop. She wanted things grey again.

 _I have a big heart._ In an instant, Lucy’s anger cooled. She had been around long enough to know when to read between the lines. It was Maggie’s next comment, however, that made Lucy freeze. _They’re brighter, with you._

Lucy had just clenched her jaw. She walked away from Maggie before pulling Alex aside. She spilled her just about every secret she had, save for Marie, and, just like Marie had all those years ago on a chilly Christmas Even, walked away before Alex could say anything. She went home, crawled into bed, and desperately prayed that things would be grey when she woke up.

They weren’t.

Two nights later, Lucy had been in the middle of her latest round of polishing off another bottle of expensive scotch when a knock at the door caught her attention. She opened it and found Alex standing in front her. She looked as exhausted as Lucy felt.

_You see them too, don’t you?_

_I do._ Lucy couldn’t keep her eyes off Alex’s lips. They were painted a striking red.

_Maggie and I talked. Did you mean it?_

_Yes._

Alex had just nodded. Then, before Lucy knew what was happening, Alex surged forward. Her arms were around Lucy’s shoulders and a blistering kiss was placed upon Lucy’s lips. Lucy stumbled back and caught herself on the kitchen island. Alex was the one to break the kiss, chest heaving.

_You…you can’t just say something like that and walk away, Lane._

_I know._ She had walked away from her soulmate once and lost her.

_The three of us, we should sit down at talk about this._

_We should._ They had to talk about this, whatever it was. Otherwise, they all risked getting hurt, soulmates or not.

_Saturday work?_

In another lifetime, Lucy had kissed Alex. In this one, she just brushed a thumb under Alex’s red lips and smiled.

_Sounds perfect._

Things weren’t perfect. At least, not at first. The colours were rich and clear for Alex and Maggie, they had told her as much. But for Lucy, the colours remained frustratingly incomplete. There were days when she saw them just like Maggie and Alex would. Then grief would hit her and the colours would become muted again. It went on for months. Then, Alex was kidnapped.

She found herself standing in the interrogation room. She stared down Rick as the desire to murder him burned away in her chest. That day, the colours were vivid. For once, she was thankful. It allowed her to better memorise the features of the man she so desperately wanted to kill.

_You know, you really shouldn’t be wasting your time with me. You should be focused on Alex._

Lucy had said nothing. She refused to give him the satisfaction of garnering a reaction from her.

_I hear that losing a soulmate can be such a traumatic experience. Wouldn’t that be a shame, for your world to lose its colours again because Alex ended up like your dear Marie?_

Lucy’s hand was around his throat the second Marie’s name left his lips.

_You don’t get to say her name._

Rick had choked and spluttered as her grip tightened. Kara and Maggie had rushed forward to pry her fingers from his throat. If Kara hadn’t been holding her back, Lucy would have punched him.

_Tick tock, Director Lane._

She had walked out.

With each passing hour, the colours grew muted. They got to Alex just as breath left her lips. The world started to grey. Lucy would have none of it. She ignored the water sloshing through her boots as she slid to Alex side and began CPR while Maggie begged Alex to wake up.

Lucy’s arms burned as she furiously pumped Alex’s chest. She hadn’t been there with Marie died. She couldn’t stop the towers from tumbling down or the colours from fading away. But she was here now. This time, she could stop it. This time, she could bring the colours back into the world. This time, she wasn’t going to lose her soulmate.

Alex coughed and sputtered and rolled over as water finally left her lungs. It was the most beautiful sound Lucy had ever hurt. She slumped back onto her heels as Maggie gathered Alex up in her jacket. The colours slowly started to come back.

_I held on._

_You did._

Later, when they  were back in the DEO medbay, Lucy mulled over the what ifs. What if Kara had been just a second later? What if Alex hadn’t been Alex? What if what if what--

Maggie’s thumb brushed against Lucy’s cheek, stopping her internal panic cold.

_We got her back._

Lucy looked at Alex as her chest rose and fell. The colours were back, muted but consistent. She took Maggie’s hand in hers.

_We did._

-

Alex’s eyes fluttered open. She grinned weakly when she saw Maggie and Lucy by her bedside.

“Hey,” she croaked out.

Maggie was the first to react. “Alex!”

“Hey,” she greeted again. Her grin turned dopey. “You both are so beautiful, you know that? With the hair and the eyes, your eyes remind me of chocolate Mags.” She let her head loll to the side to glance at Lucy. “And your eyes remind me of coffee, Luce.”

Lucy and Maggie exchanged fond looks. It was obvious that the drugs were hitting Alex’s exhausted body hard.

Alex sighed. “God…I love you both so much.”

Maggie and Lucy both froze.

“What was that, Danvers?” Maggie asked shakily, not quite sure she had heard their partner correctly.

“Love you, both ‘f you,” Alex slurred out.

Maggie licked her lips. She reached out and took Alex and Lucy’s hands in hers. “I love you too, Alex,” she said, squeezing Alex’s hand. “And I love you, Lucy.” She squeezed Lucy’s hand.

The colours grew brighter.

Lucy felt like a deer in the headlights. For one brief moment, an overwhelming fear came over her. Then, she felt a soft breeze against her cheek, like fingertips gently dragging across her skin, and knew.

She smiled. She brushed her lips against Alex’s knuckles and then Maggie’s.

“I love you,” she whispered. “Both of you. So much.”

Lucy would never forget how bright and rich the colours became as soon as the words left her mouth. She would never forget the wide smile on Maggie’s face that appeared seconds before Maggie pressed her lips to hers. She would never forget the look of happiness on Alex’s face. She would never forget.

For the first time in years, Lucy was finally at peace.


	27. Nicknames - Director Sanvers, feat. Dylan Olsen-Lane and nb!Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short fluffy piece about how Dylan came to call Alex "Opie."

“What about Bibi?” Lucy proposed.

Alex shook their head. “I really don’t want our son to associate me with Netanyahu, Luce,” they said.

James clicked on a link. “How ‘bout Baba?” he asked.

“Grandmother in Russian, so no.”

“Zither?” Kara suggested. 

Alex wrinkled their nose. “Isn’t that the name of that really obnoxious bard in Dragon Age?” they asked.

Nods from Maggie and James.

“Then no.” Alex let their head loll back against the couch. “You’d think that with all the languages on earth, there’d be at least one completely gender neutral option for parent.”

“Earth’s languages are very gender oriented,” Kara pointed out.

“Turkish isn’t,” Lucy muttered. “It only gets that way when you try to translate it over to English.”

“What about other parent?” Maggie asked, half jokingly, half sarcastic.

Kara’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s good,” she said. “Very neutral, even with English.”

“True.” Alex tilted their head. “Still a bit of a mouthful for a six month old, don’t you think, Mags?”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “We can shorten it, Danvers.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Shorten it to what? Op? Opie? Therant?”

“Opie!”

They all froze. Alex glanced down at Dylan, who up until that point had been napping against their side. Or at least, they thought he had been napping.

“Opie?” Alex asked. 

“Opie!” Dylan made a grabbing motion for them. 

Alex shifted so that they could pick him up and settle him against their chest. He snuggled against them. Alex traded a look with the others and shrugged. Couldn’t hurt to test. Dylan had reached the point where he was starting to be able to differentiate between the five of them.

“Hey, bud,” Alex coaxed. “Who’s that?” They pointed to James. 

“Da.”

“And that?” They pointed to Lucy.

“Ma.”

“And that?” They pointed to Kara.

“Ju.”

“And who’s that?” They pointed to Maggie.

“Em.”

“And me?” They pointed to themself.

“Opie!” Dylan clapped happily.

Alex glanced at the others and gave an approving nod. They saw Lucy and Maggie smile.

“Well, Baby Olsen-Lane has spoken,” Maggie said. “Alex is henceforth known as Opie.”

Alex grinned. They leaned down and kissed Dylan’s cheek, drawing giggles from him. 

“Sounds perfect,” they said.


	28. Wedding - Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sanvers wedding we all deserved dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The transliterations for the Sheva Brachot aren't perfect, but they're as close as I can get with the amount of Hebrew that I can read.
> 
> Link to the Sheva Brachot for a lesbian wedding: https://ritualwell.org/ritual/wedding-blessings-two-female-identified-partners

“You look beautiful, Margarita,” a voice spoke up from behind Maggie. “But I might have something that suits you better for today.”

Everyone in the room stopped. Maggie turned to see her aunt standing in the doorway, a large bundle in her arms. She stood.

“Tia Alma?” Maggie couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “What are you doing here?”

Alma held up the bundle in her arms. Maggie’s brow furrowed in confusion before she took a closer look at it. Her eyes widened.

“Is that…”

“Your mother’s dress? Yes.” Alma nodded.

Maggie couldn’t believe it. She took the dress into her hands. It was simple, but elegant. She ran her thumbs across the silk and the lace patterns sown about. She swallowed. After she had been kicked out, she never thought she would be able to hold this dress again, let alone on her wedding day.

“How?” she asked.

“I talked to your mother.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “And she just gave it to you?” She found that hard to believe. While Marialaura Rodas hadn’t been as explicit in her disdain for Maggie’s liking women, she certainly hadn’t done anything to defend Maggie when her husband kicked their daughter out of their house.

“Eh, I told her that I needed it for Melba’s wedding--”

“Melba’s getting married too?”

Alma waved her niece off. “No, she’s not.” She grinned at Maggie. “Not that your mother knows that.”

“You lied to my mother?”

“It’s not my fault she doesn’t come by anymore,” Alma defended, entirely unrepentant. She reached up and placed a hand on Maggie’s face. “That dress was just sitting in your mother’s closet. It deserves more than that, you deserve more than that.”

Maggie blinked back tears. M’gann would kill her if she ruined her makeup.

“It’s your wedding day, Margarita.” She patted Maggie’s cheek. “You deserve everything on your wedding day.”

Maggie swallowed. She could hear the others sniffling behind her. She took a breath to keep her own tears at bay.

“Now, let’s get you ready to be married, shall we?”

Maggie nodded.

-

Alex stood under the chupah in a charcoal grey suit with her rainbow tallit draped over her shoulders. She nervously adjusted her kippah for the umpteenth time in ten minutes. Her hands moved down to tug at her tallit, only to get slapped away by Kara.

“Alex, stop, your tallit is fine,” she muttered.

“It feels crooked,” Alex grumbled.  

“It’s fine,” Kara assured her. She reached up and smoothed out the wrinkles before double checking the clips. “The clips aren’t going to come undone.”

Before she could say anything else, the music started. Alex’s head snapped to the doors. She saw Maggie and felt her breath catch in her throat.

They had seen each other briefly for the Bedeken ceremony and Maggie had looked just as stunning then as she did now. Alex still couldn’t take her eyes off of Maggie.

“Remember to breathe,” Kara hissed under her breath.

Alex ignored her. She continued to stare. She vaguely recognised the dress from an old photo Maggie had shown her ages ago. She privately wondered where Maggie had gotten it, then out of the corner she spotted Maggie’s aunt and understood.

Maggie reached Alex. Alex watched as Maggie circled around her one, twice, a third time with Eliza by her side before coming to stop back in front of her.

Alex swallowed. Her hands shook as she reached out to lift Maggie’s veil. Maggie’s smiling face met hers once the veil was raised.

“Hey, Danvers,” she whispered.

Alex grinned. “Hi.” She licked her lips. “You look beautiful, with the hair and the dress and just, you.”

Maggie chuckled. “You don’t look half bad yourself, you know.” Her grin turned salacious. “That suit looks amazing on you.”

Alex felt her ears turning pink. She opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by an amused cough.

Both of them glanced at J’onn.

“If the two of you are done, I think we should get started.”

Alex looked back to Maggie. She took Maggie’s hands and squeezed. “Yeah.” She tilted her head. “You ready, Sawyer?”

Maggie squeezed back. “Ready when you are, Danvers.”

J’onn cleared his throat, drawing the attention of those gathered. “We are gathered here today to witness the union between Alexandra Danvers and Margarita Sawyer,” he said. “They are two souls who have faced trials after trial together and today, they seek to be joined as one.”

He paused. “If there is anyone here has a reason as to why these two should not be wed,” His eyes flashed red before turning back to normal. “I would sincerely advise that you keep it to yourself.”

Laughter rang out while the Superfriends traded looks. The West-Allen Wedding debacle and resulting trip to Earth X was still fresh in their minds. It didn’t escape the notice of Maggie or Alex how Kara shifted ever so slightly, as if to protect the two brides.

Seeing no one who looked as though they wanted to stop the nuptials from proceeded, J’onn continued and produced a silver kiddush cup full of wine.

“Alex?” He raised it up to her.

Alex cleared her throat. “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen,” she recited.

J’onn nodded and handed the cup to her. She took a small sip before passing it to Maggie who repeated the action. He took the cup back and held it so that both of them had free hands.

“The brides will now exchange rings,” he announced.

Alex glanced over her shoulder at Kara, who grinned and handed her sister the rings. Alex let out a quiet sigh of relief when she felt metal touch the palms of her hands. She turned to face Maggie and gently took her hand.

Alex looked Maggie in the eyes. “Behold,” she said, her voice steady. “You are now consecrated to me with this ring to the law of Moses and Israel.”

Maggie nodded.

Alex’s hand shook as she slid the ring on to Maggie’s index finger. Once it was on, she let out a soft breath and passed the second ring to Maggie.

Maggie look Alex’s hand. “Ani l’dodi,” she said. Alex’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ve dodi li.”

Alex swallowed as Maggie slid the ring onto her finger. She hadn’t expected Maggie to say that, especially not in Hebrew. It was a touching surprise.

_I’m marrying this woman._

J’onn cleared his throat again. “For the Sheva brakhot, the seven blessings for the new couple, will Winn Schott, James Olsen, Lucy Lane, and Diego Rodriguez come up?” he asked. He left Eliza and Kara unmentioned because they were already close by.

The Superfriends and Maggie’s partner assembled, matching smiles on their faces.

J’onn started them off. He placed his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen,” he said, repeated Alex’s first blessing.

Winn stepped forward next. He nervously adjusted his kippah, then, “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, shehakol barah lichvodo.”

He stepped back, relieved that he hadn’t fumbled over the Hebrew, as James took his place. Alex quietly offered him a proud fist bump.

James took a breath. “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam.” He started off much slower than either J’onn or Winn had, clearly unfamiliar with the language. Still, Alex and Maggie smiled at the effort he was putting in. “Yotzer ha’adam.”

Lucy was next. She nodded at Alex before clearing her throat. “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam.” Lucy’s pronunciation was great. Alex chalked it up to the fact that Lucy could speak Arabic and Farsi. “Asher yatzar er ha’adam betzalmo, b’Tzelem dmut tavnito, VeHitkon lo mimenu binyan adei ad. Baruch atah Adonai yotzer ha’adam.”

Lucy shot a cheeky grin at Alex before moving back. Eliza stepped forward, tears in her eyes and a proud smile on her face. Alex felt her stomach flip.

“Sos tasis vetagel haakarah,” she said smoothly, remembering the words that had been spoken at her own wedding. “Bekibbutz bane’ha letocha besimchaa. Baruch atah Adonai, mesame’ach tzion bevaneha.”

She squeezed Alex’s shoulder and mouthed, “I’m so proud of you, Alex” before stepping back so that Maggie’s partner could take her place.

Diego Rodriguez spoke Spanish, Portuguese, a little bit of French, and some Alcoran. He did not, however, speak nor understand Hebrew. So when he recited the blessing, it was in English.

He glanced quickly at the notecard he had taped to his hand. “Make greatly happy loving friends like You made Your creation happy in the Garden of Eden previously,” he recited. “Blessed are You God, who makes happy bride and bride.”

Maggie gave him a look of thanks. He just smiled and winked, as if to say, _Anytime Sawyer._

Kara was the last to speak. As Kara’s sister and the one who had grown up speaking Hebrew alongside Alex, Alex had entrusted the final blessing to her.

“Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam,” Her voice rang clearly throughout the chapel. “Asher barah sasson vesimcha, chatan vekalah, gila rina, ditza vechedva, ahava veachava, veshalom vere’ut. mehera  hashem elokeinu yishama bearei yehudah u’vchutzot yerushalayim, kol sasson v’ekol simcha, kol chatan v’ekol kalah, kol mitzhalot chatanim mechupatam, u’nearim mimishte neginatam. baruch ata hashem mesame’ach chatan im hakalah.”

Alex immediately pulled her into a hug once she finished. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Kara squeezed back. “I’m so happy for you, Alex.”

She pulled away and squeezed Alex’s shoulders again before returning to her spot next to her.

J’onn nodded. “You may all return to your seats.” As they all departed, he turned his attention back to the happy couple in front of him. He handed them the kiddush cup again. Alex drank half before bringing it to Maggie’s lips so that she could finish it off.

“You ready to finish this?” Maggie asked.

Alex nodded. “So ready.”

Kara passed a small bag to J’onn who quickly placed it on the ground. He raised an eyebrow at them.

Alex and Maggie looked at each other.

“Ready?” Alex checked one last time.

Maggie squeezed Alex’s hands. “Ready.”

Both of them raised a foot and crushed the glass underneath their heels. Cheers and shouts of “Mazel tov!” rang out as the sound of glass shattering hit the air.

“By the power vested in me, I hereby give you all Mrs. Sawyer-Danvers and Danvers-Sawyer and declare the two of you, wife and wife,” J’onn announced over the din. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Alex grinned. She pulled Maggie close and pressed her lips to hers. She let her eyes slip shut as she enjoyed the feel of her now-wife’s lips against her own. She felt Maggie run her fingers through her hair and unconsciously deepened the kiss when Maggie tugged at her hair. She could vaguely hear people cheering louder as she and Maggie continued to kiss, but paid them no heed. Her only focus was right now was the woman in her arms.

They broke apart when air became an issue. They stared at each other, chests heaving.

Maggie reached up and adjusted Alex’s kippah.

“I love you, Mrs. Danvers-Sawyer,” she murmured.

Alex ran her fingers through Maggie’s hair. “I love you too, Mrs. Sawyer-Danvers.”

She leaned forward and kissed Maggie again. Alex smiled as Maggie wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

_I couldn’t imagine it any other way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations (in the order that they appear in the fic)
> 
> I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.
> 
> Blessed are You Eternal our G-d Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
> 
> Blessed are You Eternal our G-d Ruler of the universe, Who created everything for G-d’s glory.
> 
> Blessed are You Eternal our G-d Ruler of the universe, Creator of humans.
> 
> Blessed are You Eternal our G-d Ruler of the universe, Who created humans in G-d’s image, in the image of the likeness You formed humans, and prepared for humans from Godself a building forever. Blessed are You G-d, Creator of humans.
> 
> Give great joy and rejoicing to the barren woman in the gathering of her children in her midst with joy. Blessed are You G-d, Who makes Zion happy through her children.
> 
> Blessed are You Eternal our G-d Ruler of the Universe, Who created joy and happiness, bride and bride, rejoicing, song, cheer and delight, love and peoplehood and peace and friendship. Speedily Eternal our G-d make heard in the cities of Judah and in the courtyards of Jerusalem a voice of joy and a voice of happiness, a voice of bride and a voice of bride, voice of exultation of brides from their chuppot and youths from their feasts of melody. Blessed are You G-d Who makes the bride happy with the bride.


	29. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza always used to caution Alex against getting caught in the storm. She had no way of knowing that her daughter was the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up that this is a pretty angsty chapter. Feel free to give this one a pass if you have to. 
> 
> TW: implied alcoholism (because we all know that Alex has a drinking problem and needs help).

Alex waited until Jeremiah is out of sight before she shakily dropped to a knee. Her chest heaved as she struggled to keep from sobbing. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to get her thoughts in order.

Fact: Jeremiah had betrayed her, betrayed them all. 

She let a out shuddering breath.

Fact: She held a gun to her father’s face, but couldn’t pull the trigger.

A shaky inhale. 

Fact: She was alone.

A trembling exhale. 

Fact: She was a soldier who had failed to pull the trigger on a traitor. 

Alex’s chest stuttered. Blood pounded her ears. She dug the muzzle of her gun deeper into the ground. She squeezed her eyes even tighter. 

Fact: She had failed and now everyone she cared about, Kara, Maggie, J’onn, they were all in danger because of it.

Thunder rumbled overhead. 

Alex opened her eyes. She got up and holstered her gun. She stared at the spot where Jeremiah had stood. She couldn’t stop her jaw from tightening. 

Thunder rumbled again. 

_ Time to go.  _

She had taken enough time to process what had just happened. There was no use in staying in the forest. Jeremiah was gone; there was no tracking him now. 

Alex turned on her heel and left, rage burning away in her chest.

-

Alex slammed the door to her flat shut. Water dripped from her nose as she angrily shucked off her tactical belt. 

She had gotten caught up in a vicious rainstorm on the way back. The rain had done wonders for cooling her body down and clearing her mind, but little to soothe her rage. If anything, the storm had only made it worse. 

Free from her belt and empty holster, Alex made her way to her liquor cabinet as rain lashed angrily against the windows of her flat. She opened it and examined her extensive collection. She spotted a bottle towards the back that she vaguely recognised from her party days. She pushed the other alcohols aside and grabbed it. She held it up to the light and nodded.

_ This’ll do perfectly. _

The bottle in her hands held liquor so cheap, it could strip the metal from paint. It would hurt to drink, but that was fine with her. She wanted it to hurt. She wanted a distraction. She wanted to stop feeling, to forget everything that had happened today. 

Alex removed the stopper. 

Fact: Jeremiah had betrayed her, betrayed everyone.

She poured a glass. 

Fact: She had held a gun to his head, but failed to pull the trigger.

She sat down on one of the stools under the bar and stared out the windows as the rain picked  up.

Fact: She was a soldier who had failed to pull the trigger on a traitor. 

She brought the glass to her lips. 

_ Really, Alexandra? Another drink?  _

Eliza’s voice reached Alex’s mind before the alcohol hit her lips. Alex’s jaw clenched as she imagined what her mother would say next. 

_ Why am I not surprised at you drowning another one of your failures in alcohol? Honestly, Alexandra. _

Alex snapped. She let out a yell that is echoed by a boom of thunder and throws the glass at the wall. It shattered, sending glass and liquor everywhere.

The storm started to increase in intensity. She spotted a family photo with Jeremiah in it. Grief and anger swept through her.

Lightning flashed. 

The photo was in her hands. 

Thunder sounded.

The photo went flying and smashed into wall on the other side of the apartment.

Alex angrily swept a hand across the kitchen bar. Empty glasses slid across the granite bartop and smashed to the ground in a shower glass shards. 

Lightning flashed. 

More photos with Jeremiah in them, books that Jeremiah had given her, read to her, all of them wound up caught in the whirlwind of her rage.

Lightning continued to streak through the sky as thunder echoed until the storm was right on top of National City. The clouds released one final flash of lightning. It illuminated the city and bathed Alex’s flat in white light. Thunder exploded seconds later, shaking Alex to her very core. 

When the noise and light died down, so did Alex’s rage. She was left standing in her apartment surrounded by destruction. The sound of her stuttered breaths and gentle rain filled her ears.

Alex took a deep breath. She walked back over to the bar and calmly poured herself another drink into the lone surviving glass. She ignored the way her hand shook as she brought the glass to her lips, deciding instead to focus on the burn the alcohol left behind. 

Alex surveyed the destruction around her. Her lips twitched into a bitter smile. 

_ How fitting.  _ It was a perfect metaphor for her life right now. 

Alex continued to drink. She had no idea how long she sat there before a knock at the door caught her attention.

“Yeah?” 

She heard the doorknob shake, as if someone was testing to see if it was locked. She continued to drink and kept her back to the door. She was too tired to care about whoever it was that was trying to gain entrance into her flat.

The door opened. Then, “Alex?”

Alex glanced over her shoulder to see Maggie standing by the door. “Hey, Sawyer,” she greeted, her voice raspy from a combination of grief and the alcohol she’d been drinking.  

“Hey.” Maggie tilted her head. Alex followed her eyes as Maggie observed the countless destroyed items. “What happened?”

Alex looked away and took another sip. She closed her eyes, savouring how the alcohol tore at her throat, and heard Maggie walk up behind her. She opened her eyes when she felt Maggie place a hand on her shoulder.

“Alex, babe, what happened?” Alex said nothing. “How was your dad’s first day?”

Alex chose to down the rest of the glass instead of answering.

Maggie sat across from her. “Not good, huh?” she guessed.

Alex went to pour another glass, only to get stopped by Maggie.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, let’s stop that,” Maggie said as she gently moved the bottle out of Alex’s grasp and capped it. “Alex?”

Alex refused to look at her. She focused on the shattered picture frame several feet away instead. 

Maggie placed a hand on Alex’s face, directing Alex’s attention to her. “Hey, I’m right here, okay?” She stroked her thumb against Alex’s cheek. “You can tell me anything.”

Alex swallowed and looked away again. She had no idea what to say.

“Alex, hon, look at me.” The pleading note in Maggie’s voice made Alex look at her. “What happened with your dad?”

Alex opened her mouth to tell her, but found the words stuck in her throat. She let out a shuddering breath. When she spotted the rising concern in Maggie’s eyes, all she could do was choke out a sob. She found herself in Maggie’s arms moments later.

The feel of Maggie’s arms around her, holding her, loving her, were too much for Alex. She wept as the grief, heartbreak, and stress washed over her. 

“I’m right here,” Maggie whispered. 

Alex felt Maggie press a soft kiss to her hair and clung tighter to her in response. Four facts ran through her mind, unchanged. 

Fact: Jeremiah Danvers had betrayed her, betrayed them all.

Fact: She held a gun to her father’s face, but couldn’t pull the trigger.

Fact: She was a soldier that had failed to pull the trigger on a traitor.

Fact: She had failed and now everyone she cared about, Kara, Maggie, J’onn, they were all in danger because of it.

“I’m right here, Ally,” she heard Maggie say again.

The fifth fact, however, had.

Fact: She wasn’t alone. Maggie was here, with her, holding her, loving her, caring for her without any ulterior motives. 

The rain continued to fall, albeit more softly as Alex cried harder. Maggie continued to murmur reassurances and words of comfort as she eyed all the broken items. Later, when Alex was sleeping off her emotional hangover, Maggie would quietly clean up before going back to bed and sitting next to her, watching as she slept. In the morning, they would talk about what had happened. For now, though, the two just stood in each others arms sharing Alex’s grief. 


	30. Last Goodbye - Director Sanvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Marie get their time together but, in the end, there are just some events that the universe considers to be constant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow up of Coffee (version 2), where Marie survived the events on 9/11. That itself is an AU of Closet.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy.

 Lucy hated hospitals. The sterile smell of antiseptic always burned at her nose. She hated how bright they were and how cheerful the halls looked. Most of all, she hated that her wife was now on her deathbed in one.

“Hey...beautiful,” Marie’s wheezy voice broke through Lucy’s bitter inner monologue.

She sat up straighter. “Hey,” she said. She grabbed a water cup, filled it, and stuck a straw in it. She helped Marie sit up and moved the oxygen mask aside so that she could drink. She watched Marie’s throat bob as she greedily sucked down the liquid.

Once Marie was finished, Lucy set the mask back over Marie’s mouth and moved the cup back to the bedside table.

“How’re you feeling?” She wanted to kick herself as soon as the question left her lips.

Marie grinned. It made Lucy want to cry. “Better, now that you’re here,” she said. Even an aggressive form on lung cancer couldn’t kill her sense of humour. She settled back against the pillows. “How are you here, anyway?”

Lucy shrugged. “I told you I was going to make it back in time for our anniversary,” she said. It wasn’t a complete lie. She had promised Marie that.

Marie gave her wife a look.

Lucy sighed. “I put in for emergency leave after Victoria called me and told me what happened,” she admitted.

Marie’s eyes widened. “You did what?” She tried to sit up and immediately started to cough. Lucy rushed to gently push her back down.

“Hey, Mar, it’s okay,” she reassured her.

Marie continued to cough. “Luce, you can’t…” Several more harsh coughs. “Your career--”

Lucy pulled the mask aside as Marie doubled over. She rubbed her hand against Marie’s back to try and calm her down.

“It’s okay,” she said again. She looked Marie in the eye. “I promise, it’s okay. I told them that Lois was sick.”

The implementation of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’s repeal a year ago meant that Lucy could finally be open about her bisexuality without having to risk a dishonorable discharge. It didn’t mean, however, that the Army would recognise her relationship with Marie. To Lucy’s frustration, despite the fact that she and Marie were legally married, she couldn’t claim emergency leave to be with her wife because their marriage was only recognised on a state level, not a federal one.

“Okay…” Marie let out a few shuddering breaths. Her chest heaved as her lungs struggled to get oxygen. Her head thumped back against the pillows. “Okay…That’s…that’s good…”

Lucy nodded. “They gave me three weeks.”

“Three weeks…is good.”

“It is.” Although, both of them knew that Marie didn’t have three weeks. The rapid deterioration Marie had undergone over the last several weeks made that apparent.

The two fell into an easy silence just enjoying each other’s company. Lucy ran her thumb across the back of Marie’s hand as she took her wife in. Marie’s shaved head was covered with a bandana that bore the JAG branch insignia. She smiled slightly at the sight of it.

 _You know, there are much cooler designs out there, Marie,_ she had said months ago while shaving Marie’s head. The JAG bandana had been tucked into her jean pocket while she worked.

 _Hey, I have to represent my wife somehow,_ Marie had laughed. Lucy had rolled her eyes, unable to fight back her smile nonetheless. _You still going to love me when I’m bald, Luce?_

 _Always_ , Lucy had replied without hesitation before shooting a cheeky grin at her wife in the mirror. _God knows I didn’t marry you for your looks to begin with,_ she teased and started to laugh at the mock offended look Marie sent her way.

They had spent the rest of the haircut laughing together.

“It’s been a great ride,” Marie’s voice snapped Lucy from her memories. Marie was looking at her. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“Neither would I.” The last eleven years had been some of the best of Lucy’s life. She would do it all over again: the long distance, the three cross country assignments, the two overseas postings, the one six month deployment to Iraq, the waiting for DADT to be repealed, all of it. She would do it all and more if it meant that she would get to meet Marie each time.

Lucy grinned at Marie. “You remember the day we got married?”

Marie smiled. “How could I forget?” Lucy had been on leave with her when news broke that New York legalised same-sex marriage. They were at the courthouse in Brooklyn two hours later. Both of Marie’s sisters, Victoria and Jasmine, and Lois were in attendance to witness Lucy in her dress blues as she slid a ring onto Marie’s finger. “You wore your dress blues.”

Lucy nodded. “I did.” It was a last minute decision on Lucy’s part, and a risky one at that. While DADT had been repealed a year earlier, it hadn’t fully ceased to be DoD policy. Showing up to the courthouse in uniform had created a stir among those who were present, but at the time, Lucy didn’t care. She still didn’t. She was a bisexual woman in the Army and she wasn’t afraid to admit it anymore.

Lucy tilted her head. “You looked radiant that day,” she said. “You still do.”

Marie laughed and then started to cough. “Sweet...talker,” she rasped out.

“I know beauty when I see it,” Lucy said.

“That’s…” A few more harsh coughs that made Lucy want to cringe. “Debatable.”

“Hey!”

“Bright orange drapes and...a forest green couch...ring a bell?” Marie teased.

Lucy huffed. “I worked Signal at the time,” she said. “It’s an unspoken rule that I had to have at least one piece of bright orange fabric on display.”

“The couch was still…” she paused to take a few deep breaths of oxygen. “Hideous, babe.”

Lucy pouted. “Okay, fine, so my ability to pick colours sucks,” she grumbled. They’d had this argument dozens of times over the years. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know a beautiful woman when I see her; causation doesn’t equal correlation, remember?”

“I remember,” Marie said with a smile. She had graduated from NYU a degree in computational statistics before joining the FDNY as a paramedic. On more than one occasion, Lucy had watched, amused, as her partner ranted about why whatever statistics the New York Times brought up that week were flawed because they tried to imply that there was a correlation where there wasn’t one.

“Good,” Lucy said with a dramatic huff. The smile tugging at her lips let Marie know that Lucy wasn’t really upset.

Marie sighed. She directed her gaze back to the ceiling. “Lucy?”

“Yeah?” Lucy glanced at her wife curiously.

“You know that everything is going to be okay, right?”

Lucy swallowed. She took a shuddering breath as she fought back tears that had come without warning.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Okay. Good.” Marie yawned. “‘M tired.” That didn’t surprise Lucy. Her wife was terminally ill. “Come lay with me?”

“You got it.” It took some careful maneuvering on Lucy’s part, but soon she in bed next to Marie. Her wife snuggled closer and placed her head on Lucy’s chest. “Better?”

“M’ch,” Marie drawled out, her voice starting to grow thick with exhaustion. “Happy an’vers’ry, Luce… Love…you…” Her breathing evened out moments later.

Lucy bit her lip. “I love you too,” she whispered. She kissed her wife’s bandana-covered head before closing her eyes. She focused on the quiet hiss the oxygen mask made every so often. She covered her face as the reality that Marie was going to die hit her in full force and tried not to cry.

-

Lucy awoke to bright sunlight streaming in through the windows and Marie’s hand resting gently her cheek. She blinked. It looked like she had dozed off sometime during the night before.

“Mmph…Marie?” She asked, her voice still thick with sleep. She looked down at her wife, taking the hand that was against her face and kissed it.

There was no response. Marie’s eyes remained closed. Her face stayed at peace.

Ice slid through Lucy’s gut. She moved her hand to brush against Marie’s face.

Still nothing.

Her hand began to shake. She moved her hand to grip Marie’s shoulder.

“Marie?” She said again, her voice starting to tremble.

No response.

“Oh…” Lucy could no longer contain her tears. The world blurred as she began to cry. She sat up and pulled Marie to her. She clutched Marie tightly against herself, as if holding the woman she loved would be enough to bring her back. It didn’t.

“Marie…” Lucy’s sobs echoed in the room as she wept alone.

-

In different universe, Lucy had time to process Marie’s death before she went off to war. That Lucy had years to cry and remember the woman she loved.

This Lucy was given neither. Three days after Marie died, Lucy received news from her commanding officer at Fort Hamilton: Afghanistan was in desperate need of JAG officers to prosecute soldiers in serious violation of the Rules of Engagement and UCMJ, and she had been selected as one of the ones to deploy over.

_When?_

_Friday._

_I bury my wife on Friday._

_I know. I told them as much. But they won’t budge._

_Because my spouse was a woman._

_Yes_. Lucy wanted to smash the phone against the granite kitchen countertop. She instead settled for gripping it so tight, the plastic handset creaked in protest.

 _I bury my wife on_ Friday.

_I know. It’s why I pulled some favours to get you on the last flight out._

_Thank you._

She wore her dress blues to Marie’s funeral. The St. Christopher medal Marie had given her all those years ago was tucked under her shirt. She stood in the front, stone faced, as they pulled the flag from Marie’s casket and presented it to her.

_On behalf of a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service._

Lucy’s ring gleamed in the sunlight as she accepted the flag.

As the funeral dragged on, Lucy never said a word. She watched alongside Marie’s family and Lois as they lowered her coffin into the ground. Tears rolled down her face once it disappeared from view. She took a few shaky steps towards Marie’s headstone and dropped to a knee.

_Marie Alexander-Lane_

_August 20, 1976 - July 25, 2012_

_It is great to be loved, but it is profound to be understood._

Lucy kissed Marie’s gravestone. Then, she was gone.

Showing up to McGuire Air Force Base in her dress blues raised a few eyebrows. Even more went up when she boarded a C-130 in them.

 _Meeting go long, Major?_ One of the other soldiers on board had joked. It drew grins across faces all around, save for Lucy’s.

 _I buried my wife this afternoon._ The grins died immediately.

No one said another word the rest of the flight.

When Lucy arrived in Afghanistan, she found it full of things she hated: excessive amounts of sand, wicked sunlight, killer heat, and a communications network that went out every two days because the Taliban kept cutting the lines.

She immediately threw herself into work. She used it as a means to try and bury her grief. With the backlog of cases she had to get through and the paperwork involved, it was easy. Then a photojournalist by the name of James Olsen introduced himself to her in the mess hall.

_James Olsen, Daily Planet._

_Daily Planet? You work with Lois Lane?_

_I do, yeah._ He eyed her, curious. _Why?_

Lucy took a sip of her coffee. _She’s my sister._

He sat back. Lucy waited, wanting to see how it would play out.

 _Well, never would’ve guessed that._ He grinned at her. _You’ve got a much better jaw than she does._

She blinked and then returned the grin. They became fast friends after that.

As far as war photographers went, James was as wet behind the ears as they came. She told him as much.

 _How’s your first assignment in a war zone treating you?_ She asked him over coffee in the mess hall one day.

 _Is it that obvious?_ He asked, ducking his head in embarrassment.

She poked his crisp white button up that could probably be seen from the mountains. _Extremely. But it’s easily fixed._

_Yeah?_

Lucy smirked and took a sip of her coffee. _Yes_.

Later that night, she called in a favour with a friend in Logistics. The next day, James found himself face to face with a very disgruntled supply officer. She took one look at his clothing and grumbled about civilians with impractical clothing and death wishes before shoving an ACU undershirt and a pair of desert coloured boots into his arms. She turned on her heel and disappeared before he could sputter out either a defence or a word of thanks.

 _Better_? He asked he saw Lucy in the mess the following day.

She looked him over and nodded. _Much_.

Her friendship with James was great. He was a prime source for gossip about Lois that Lucy hadn’t known about. She told him tales about her and Lois as children, often drawing looks of disbelief and laughter from him. She discovered out that he was just as much an insomniac as she was. On more than occasion when she was working late, she found him stopping by her office to bring her coffee.

 _When are you up for R &R?_ He had asked her one night.

_Three weeks. When is Perry swapping you out?_

_Same time._ He sat on the corner of her desk, careful not to disturb any of the piles of paperwork around him. _You know, you should come to Metropolis with me._

_To see Lois?_

_No, there’s a law library that I thought you’d be interested in, one of the largest in the world--_

Lucy’s stomach twisted. She looked up from her paperwork. _Are you asking me out on a date?_

_Um, yes?_

In another lifetime, she would have said yes. But right now, a date was out of the question. It was far too soon.

She bit her lip and shook her head. _I’m sorry, James, but I’m going to have to say no._

_It doesn’t have to be the library--_

_I’m married_ , she blurted out. He froze, as did she once what she said registered with her. She closed her eyes.

 _Was, married_ , she corrected. _My wife…she died six months ago._

_I’m sorry._

_Don’t be. You didn’t know. No one here does. Well, you do now, but still._

_I’m sorry_ , he said again and left.

Lucy threw her glasses onto the papers in front of her and pulled the St. Christopher medal from under her shirt. Her wedding ring twinkled in the chain. She clutched the medallion and ring. Grief washed over her.

Her paperwork went unfinished that night.

They didn’t talk for a week.

Then, one night, there was a knock on her door of her housing unit. She opened it to see James standing with a bottle of wine in his hands.

_I can’t drink here._

_That’s fine._ He grinned. _I’ll drink for the both of us._

She let him in.

 _So, tell me about your wife,_ he said, once he was settled on the couch. He eyed the picture tucked into the folds of a neatly folded American flag that was perched next to Lucy’s desk.

 _She...she was smart_ , Lucy started. It was awkward. She had never had trouble discussing Marie before, but now it made a lump form in her throat. _And strong. And so beautiful, and she had the kindest heart._

_She sounds amazing._

_She was_ , Lucy agreed and started to cry. _She was._

James finished off the bottle of wine and ended up with a wicked hangover for his trouble. Lucy had to call in sick as well.

Lucy called home to tell Marie that she would be home in a week and apologise for missing her birthday. It was three rings in before she remembered that Marie was gone. That she was dead.

Lucy hung up before the call could finish connecting.

She looked over patrol reports and thought about going out on one. It wouldn’t have been out of character, plenty of other officers went out from time to time. And for what she wanted, it would have been easy. After all, the main patrol route had been hit so many times that other soldiers had taken to calling it “Suicide Run.” Before she could put her name down on the roster, the folded flag caught her eye. Marie’s picture was tucked into the folds. Lucy put down her pen and hated herself for even thinking about.

James saw the roster. To Lucy’s relief, he said nothing.

They left Afghanistan together. He gave her his business card with his personal phone number written on the back.

 _If you want more gossip on Lois,_ he said and winked.

She rolled her eyes, but kept the card. She put his number in her phone when she got home.

R&R turned out to be much less restful than it should have been. Lucy spent one night in the bed she and Marie had shared for years before deciding to move to the couch. The bedroom just had too many memories. During the day, she visited Marie, a bouquet of blue hyacinths in hand, and spent hours talking.

_I can’t sleep in the bedroom anymore. I almost signed up for a patrol that would’ve gotten me killed. I miss you. I miss you. I miss you._

In another lifetime, Lucy went back to Afghanistan alone. In this one, James surprised her at the airport.

_I thought Perry was switching you out._

_The other guy backed out last minute_. She didn’t know it at the time, but James had lied. He had gone back to Metropolis and fought Perry tooth and nail before the man ultimately acquiesced and agreed to send James back to Afghanistan.

_That’s a shame._

_Yup. Would’ve been quiet a loss for you, if he’d taken the job,_ James preened. _Now it’s time for Major Photographer to get back to the fight._

_That’s a terrible name._

_You’re right,_ he agreed as they stepped onto the plane. How about _Olsen and Lane: Photographer ‘n Law?_

For the first time since Marie had died, a real smile crossed Lucy’s lips. _Sounds perfect._

Her friendship with James turned out to be a godsend during the last half of her deployment. He had an uncanny ability to show up whenever Lucy was starting to spiral because of her grief. He traded stories about Lois at work for stories about Marie.

 _Why do you keep asking about her?_ She asked him one day during lunch in the mess.

 _Because she sounds like such a wonderful lady,_ he said truthfully. _And it’d be such a waste for her to be forgotten._

Their wedding anniversary rolled around a month before Lucy was set to return to the states. Her mood soured as the day grew closer. She conducted herself in a professional manner that her father would have been proud of, but just about everyone on base could sense something was wrong and went out of their way to leave her alone. James was the only one that didn’t.

The day of her wedding anniversary, he showed up outside her quarters with a bottle of wine in his hands.

_I’ll drink for the both of us._

Lucy let him in.

 _Want to talk about it?_ He asked as he opened the wine.

 _It would’ve been our second wedding anniversary today,_ she said and angry tears rolled down her face. _We’d been together eleven years before she died_.

James hugged her with one arm and took a drink with his other one. _I’m sorry._

_I loved her._

_I know._

_I miss her._

_I know._

James finished off the bottle of wine and ended up with a wicked hangover for his trouble. Lucy called in sick the next morning.

A week before her time in Afghanistan was up, Lucy got a call from her branch representative: West Point needed a JAG officer to teach constitutional law and her name had come up.

_There’s a position as West Point that just opened up. I’m thinking about taking it._

_You should._

_West Point is in New York._ New York was where Marie was buried. West Point was a few hours away from the city, but it was still close enough that throwing herself into work wouldn’t be enough to bury her grief.

_Is that really such bad thing, Lucy?_

She called branch back and accepted the offer. She and James left Afghanistan together. He helped her pack up the house. Marie’s sisters made a surprise appearance.

 _Where are you going?_ Victoria asked.

_West Point. To teach._

Jasmine eyed James who continued to move about and pack things up with a careful reverence, then the boxes that were stacked about.

_You’re still a part of this family, Lucy. Don’t be a stranger._

She tugged Victoria out of the house before Lucy could say anything.

 _They have a point,_ James said as he put a very tacky toaster in a box.

 _Shut up_ , she told him, but there was no heat in her words.

Between her and James, it took a five days to pack everything away. She was gone a day later.

The return to West Point was daunting. She walked past the barracks that held her own room and glanced up to see a curious new cadet looking down. She stopped breathing. For a second, Lucy found herself 19 years in the past, staring out that same window as she watched the MPs escort Kate Kane from the grounds. A moment later, she blinked and the cadet was gone. Lucy could breathe again. She looked down at her wedding ring, closed her eyes, and kissed it.

 _You have anyone at home, ma’am?_ One of the cadets in her constitutional law class had asked her one evening. It was her last class of the day.

_Not anymore._

_But you used to._

_Yes._

_A boyfriend?_ A female cadet asked.

Almost, she wanted to say.

 _In another lifetime_ , is what she said.

 _What about a girlfriend?_ A brave cadet spoke up.

The room went silent. No one dared to breathe. Lucy looked up from her papers. She rubbed her wedding ring and felt everyone’s eyes zero in on it.

 _I had a wife._ Eyes went wide. _Now turn to page 175._

And that was the end of that discussion.

Later, once class was over and everyone was leaving for dinner, it was Lucy’s turn to ask.

 _What’s her name?_ It was quiet.

_Pardon?_

_The girl you’re sweet on._

The brave cadet tensed, then glanced at Lucy’s wedding ring. _Rebecca_. It was soft, almost shy.

Lucy nodded. _She know?_

_No._

_You should tell her, when you get the chance._

_Yes, ma’am._ A curious look. _How long were you and your wife married for?_

 _A year._ She rubbed her ring. _But we were together for almost twelve before she died._

Word about Lucy spread quickly. She caught cadets whispering and picked her name on more than one occasion. At first, it frightened her. DADT was gone, but the memories were still fresh. Then, on her way to class, she bumped into one of her colleagues. She recognised her immediately as the mechanical engineering professor. Something made her look closer: it was Helen Watson, her old roommate when she had been a cadet.

 _Watson_.

 _Lane_. A glance at Lucy’s wedding ring and then a nod. _I wish I’d been as brave as you._

She was gone before Lucy could say anything.

Lucy walked into her class and was surprised to be met with looks of awe and respect. She nodded.

_We’ll be starting today with a discussion on the Fifth Amendment and its roots and applications. You all should’ve done the reading last night, but I’m feeling generous this morning, so you’ll have five minutes to prepare. Go._

Her cadets scrambled. Her fear was gone. In its place was determination.

Lucy was serving as one of the faculty advisors for the Summer Leadership Experience program when when news broke that same-sex marriage had been legalised nationwide and was now recognised on a federal level.

 _Major Lane, did you hear?_ One of high schoolers had asked the second she stepped through the door. They knew by then that she was bisexual.

 _I did_. She looked around and saw a sea of curious and eager faces. She sighed and binned her lesson plan for the night.

_Change of plans, tonight, we’ll be debating the potential effects this ruling has for members of the military. You have 15 minutes to prepare before I open up the discussion. You can use your phones. Go._

Her classroom broke out into noise as they pulled cell phones from the uniforms. She sat back and smiled.

Later that night, she skipped dinner with her colleagues in the mess hall and drove down to visit Marie. She sat before Marie’s grave in her blues, a box of cheap take away in one hand and a bouquet of blue hyacinths in the other. She placed the hyacinths in front of her wife’s grave before she started to nibble on the lo mein.

 _They did it, Marie,_ she said, fighting back tears. _Our marriage is federally legal now._

She thought about the cadet who had asked her about Marie two years prior. That cadet had stopped by before she left for summer training to show Lucy a picture of her and Rebecca, a wide grin on her face.

_She said yes to a date, ma’am._

_I knew she would, Rodriguez._

With DADT four years dead, a new generation of soldiers could serve without fear of losing everything just because of who they loved. And now, with Supreme Court’s ruling, they wouldn’t have to go through what Lucy had. They wouldn’t have to lie to take leave or worry about being deployed just days after losing the person that they loved because their love was now seen in the same eyes as that of their heterosexual peers.

Lucy lost her battle with her tears. She cried, half out of grief and half out of relief. Grief that Marie hadn’t lived long enough to see the day where their marriage was recognised on a national level, relief that there would be soldiers who wouldn’t have to experience Lucy’s plight.

When there were no more tears to be shed, Lucy kissed Marie’s tombstone and returned to West Point. She walked into her classroom the next morning like she hadn’t spent the night before sobbing over her wife’s grave.

_I trust that you all did last night’s reading because we’re going to spend the next hour and a half discussing the ethics of war and lack thereof in asymmetrical warfare. Smith, you’re opening today. Go._

No one mentioned the shadows under her eyes.

It was six months later, towards the end of the fall semester, when her father made an appearance at West Point. She was in the middle of her advanced military ethics course when the commandant stepped in.

_Major Lane, General Lane is here. He’s asking for you._

Lucy’s stomach dropped, but she kept her face expressionless. She fixed her class with a look.

_We’ll finish this discussion on Thursday. By that time, I want a minimum of three pages on the paradoxes present within the military creed and its relation to utilitarianism. Dismissed._

The walk to the commandant’s office was agonising. Each step made her stomach twist. It had her feel like a cadet all over again. She clenched her fists unconsciously, a move that went unnoticed by the commandant. She hadn’t spoken to her father in years, not since he had so casually disregarded her marriage to Marie.

 _Honestly Lucy, what were you thinking, showing up in public like that in your uniform?_ He had asked over the phone, just hours after she and Marie were wed.

_I was thinking that me and Marie were finally able to get married because the state of New York said we could._

_Married?_ A disgusted scoff. Don’t be ridiculous. _For god’s sake, Lucy, you can’t marry a woman._

_I just did, Dad._

_That’s not a marriage._

_Goodbye, Dad._

Before she knew it, she was standing outside of the commandant’s office. Her heart was in her throat. Was this how Kate had felt, all those years ago, right before they dismissed her from the Academy?

The door opened. Lucy was ushered inside. Her father stood by the desk, stone faced.

 _Lucy_.

She fired off a sharp salute that, once upon a time, would have made his lips twitch with approval. _Sir_.

He returned it lazily as the commandant left them alone.

_I’m pleased to see how far you’ve come._

Because I’m your daughter, or despite the fact that I was married to a woman? She wanted to ask, but held her tongue.

He handed her a file. _You’ve been selected by the president for an assignment. Top secret._

Operation: RED TORNADO stared her back in the face.

 _We’ll be working together again, like the good old days._ Were Sam Lane anyone else, Lucy would have decked them. He moved to leave. _It’s good to see that you came to your senses about marrying a woman._

 _I didn’t_ , she said before she could stop herself. _She died, Dad. Cancer, just like mom. We stayed married until the end._ Her wedding ring burned against her skin _. Just like you and mom did._

He clenched his jaw at the comparison, but left without another word.

She met up with James when she got to National City. She found the place to be very different from West Point: it was loud and full of life, even at night, and it was comfortably warm; a good change of pace from the New York winter she had left. But National City was so far away from New York, from Marie. It made her homesick. Not even meeting the Superfriends could change that.

She dove headfirst into her new assignment and discovered, with dismay, that her father had added xenophobia to his list of wonderful character traits. She wasn’t entirely impressed with Supergirl, but even she could see the advantages of having an alien on humanity’s side. She watched alongside her fellow soldiers and the agents of Supergirl’s organisation as the woman obliterated the android and gave a silent nod of approval while her father ranted and raved.

It was after a very uncomfortable Thanksgiving with her father, attended by James for moral support, that Lucy discovered her father’s true motives. To her disgust, he was planning on taking over the DEO and he was going to use Lucy to do it. Outranked and outmaneuvered, Lucy had no choice but to comply. She interrogated Supergirl’s handler and found herself intrigued by the no-nonsense and snarky agent. Sitting across from Agent Danvers made her stomach flip in a way it hadn’t in years. She brushed it off as nerves before calling Agent Danvers out as the liar that she was and having her arrested. Then, she went home and tried to pretend nothing was wrong.

It didn’t work.

Lucy’s conscious reared its ugly head at her a few days later following a visit from Kara and the subsequent revelation that she was Supergirl. The next thing she knew, she was on a motorcycle on her way to free Agent Danvers, Alex, from Colonel Harper’s custody. It was exhilarating, but it did little to stop the butterflies that went mad in her stomach at the look Alex gave her once free from the truck.

She called James as soon as she got home. He showed up to her flat with a bottle of scotch.

 _We’re drinking together_ , she said the second she opened the door.

_Works for me._

She paced across her flat with a glass of scotch in her hand and told him everything.

 _You know, Luce_ , he said from the couch. It sounds like maybe you’ve got a crush on her.

Lucy panicked. She threw back the entire contents of her glass before going for the bottle itself. She managed three large mouthfuls of scotch before James stopped her.

_Lucy!_

_I loved Marie._

_I know._

_Danvers is straight._

_You don’t know that._

_I’m not ready._

_That’s okay._

_I can’t, I don’t want to forget her._

_You’re not._ He rubbed her back. _Having a crush doesn’t mean you’re forgetting her, it just means that maybe your heart’s ready for someone new._

That terrified Lucy more than her crush on Alex did.

She and James finished the bottle of scotch together and ended up with nasty matching hangovers for their trouble. She called in sick for the both of them.

 _I hate you so much_ , James had groaned from the couch the next morning.

 _No you don’t._ She passed him a concoction that Marie had sworn by years ago. _Now drink this, you’ll feel better._

James drank it and spent 30 minutes dry heaving. He felt better afterwards.

Lucy went back to work. She ignored calls from Jasmine and Victoria and chose to focus solely on running the DEO to try and bury her feelings. It almost worked. Then Myriad came online. The last thing she remembered before the wave hit National City was Alex’s number appearing on her phone. When she came to, she saw a distraught Alex begging Kara to come back. There was a commotion before she passed out again, this time from the pain caused by the secondary wave.

The second time Lucy woke up, it was to Marie standing over her. Her heart caught in her throat. Then she blinked. Marie vanished. In her place was a sweat soaked Alex, having just returned from space. Kara was on a sunbed next to her. Lucy had to fight the urge to cry.

_Are you alright, Lane?_

_Fine_ , Danvers, she lied. She sat up. _Give me a status report._

A few hours later and Lucy was finally free from the clutches of the medbay. She stood in Kara’s apartment and watch the two sisters interact. Seeing them made her hide her smile behind her beer.

 _You should tell her_ , James said quietly.

_I will, when the time’s right._

_When’s that going to be?_

When I’m ready to say it, she wanted to say.

 _When she’s ready to hear it_ , is what she said.

Alex was ready to hear it six months later. Lucy was working out at the desert base when Vasquez delivered the news: Alex Danvers finally had her big gay awakening and, after a few missteps, was in a relationship with an NCPD cop.

_She’ll be at Quarks this Friday, ma’am. Says she’s going to introduce her new beau then._

She nodded and sent Vasquez on their way. She rubbed her wedding ring and cursed James. She went to the dive bar that Friday.

Lucy walked into a small dive bar where the Superfriends were gathered and froze when she saw Alex and her girlfriend. She had never seen Alex so carefree or happy. It was such a beautiful sight. Then, Alex’s girlfriend turned and Lucy stopped breathing. She felt her jaw unhinge slightly and her eyes widen as she took in her in. She immediately reminded Lucy of Marie. It made her stomach twist. Seeing her interact with Alex made Lucy’s heart ache.

Still, Lucy approached like nothing was wrong. The joy in Alex’s eyes when she realised that Lucy had arrived made it worth it.

“Glad to see you’re finally out, Danvers.”

“You knew?!”

“Of course I did. I was married to a woman, after all.”

Everyone, save for James, Maggie, and J’onn froze. Their eyes zeroed in on Lucy’s wedding ring.

“You’re…”

“Bi.” There was no hesitation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Maggie nod in approval. “And a widow.” It was frank, but she couldn’t keep the slightly bitter tone out of it.

Winn dragged Alex over to the pool table before anyone could say anything else. Lucy flagged down the bartender for a glass of scotch while Maggie glued herself to Lucy’s side.

“How long were you married for?” It was soft.

“A year.” Lucy swirled the contents of her glass. “We were together for almost twelve before she died. Cancer, from working the Pile after 9/11.”

She eyed Maggie and changed the subject. “Have to say Sawyer, I’m glad to see you come around. I had half a mind to kick your ass when news hit the Desert Base that you fucked with Alex like that.”

“I’m glad I came around too.” Lucy could feel the burn of Maggie’s gaze on her as she kept her own her eyes on Alex and Winn at the pool table. “You have feelings for her.”

“I do.” She did, and they were starting to grow. It scared her more than anything.

“You ever think about telling her?”

“No.” She took a sip of her scotch. Telling Alex would mean acknowledging what she was feeling in the first place. Besides, what was the point? Alex was dating Maggie.

“You should.”

Lucy nearly shattered the glass in her hand at the unexpected comment. She swallowed. “You’re dating her.”

A shrug from Maggie. “Something tells me Alex already has some idea, Director, she’s just waiting for you to say it.”

“You’re. Dating. Her.” Lucy’s ears burned with anger and shame. Anger that Maggie would dare to imply that Alex would be unfaithful and shame that she had these feelings in the first place.

“I have a big heart.” Maggie’s comment made Lucy freeze. She had been around long enough to know when to read between the lines. She felt her fear double. “Talk to her.”

Maggie walked away, leaving Lucy to her own devices. Lucy eyed her glass and then asked the bartender for something stronger. She was handed a glass of something that she recognised as one of the most expensive whiskeys on the market before being told it was on the house. It took three before she was ready to talk to Alex.

She pulled Alex aside, spilled her secrets, and, just like Marie had done on a chilly Christmas Eve a lifetime ago, walked away before Alex could say anything. Lucy went home, looked at her wedding photo before crawling into bed, and hated herself.

Two nights later, Lucy was in the middle of her latest round of polishing off another bottle of expensive scotch when a knock at the door caught her attention. She opened it and was taken aback to see Alex standing in front of her. She looked as exhausted as Lucy felt.

_Maggie and I talked. Did you mean it?_

No, she wanted to say.

 _Yes_ , is what she said, because she couldn’t lie to Alex.

Alex nodded. Then, before Lucy knew what was happening, Alex’s arms were around her shoulders and a blistering kiss was placed upon her lips. Lucy stumbled back and caught herself on the kitchen island. Alex was the one to break the kiss, chest heaving.

_You…you can’t just say something like that and walk away, Lane._

_I know_. Her wedding ring burned against her skin. _But you know why I did._

 _I do._ Alex bit her lip. Lucy had the strange urge to kiss her at the sight. _The three us, I think we should sit down and talk about this._

 _We should._ They had to talk about this, whatever it was. Otherwise, they all risked getting hurt.

_Saturday work?_

In a different timeline, Lucy kissed Alex. In this one, she just smiled and squeezed Alex’s hand.

_Sounds perfect._

They talked on Saturday.

 _I’m a widow,_ Lucy said without preamble. _And I’m…not sure if I’m ready for anything, really._

Maggie took her hand. _That’s okay_. She glanced at Alex who smiled. _We’ll go at your pace._

Then more on Sunday.

_How would this work, would we be a triad or a hinge?_

_How about hinge first and then see where it goes?_

And, when it became apparent that there was still more to discuss, called in sick on Monday.

 _We don’t have to start dating right away!_ Alex blurted. When Maggie and Lucy both looked at her, curious, she blushed. _We could just… spend time together._

Lucy exchanged looks with Maggie, who gave her a nod in approval.

_That works._

So they did.

It was slow and small at first. It was partly because Maggie and Alex insisted at going at Lucy’s pace, something she was incredibly grateful for, and partly because Lucy had to split time between the Desert Base and the National City headquarters.

Some nights, she stayed at Alex’s flat. Most of the nights she spent with Alex, they just ordered take out and pizza and laughed at B-grade horror flicks while cuddling. Occasionally, those nights would grow somber.

 _Does the pace we’re going at make you feel like I’m stuck loving a ghost, Alex?_ Lucy asked one night as they watched Jason Voorhees bifurcate another unfortunate teenager.

 _No_. Alex looked up at her. _You lost your wife, Lucy. Coming back from that takes time._

_What if it takes too long?_

_It won’t._ A kiss to the side of Lucy’s jaw. _You’re ready when you’re ready, Luce._ Alex winced as another teenager lost their head. _Oof, that’s gonna hurt._

_You think, Danvers?_

Other nights, she spent with Maggie. Sometimes they went to the bar to grab food and play pool.

 _Wow, I thought Alex was exaggerating, but you really suck at pool, Sawyer,_ she said, having won yet another round.

 _Shove off, Lane,_ Maggie snarked back, but there was no heat in her words.

Other times, they stayed in at Maggie’s flat and talked.

 _Tell me about Marie,_ Maggie said while she and Lucy were laying together on the couch.

 _Why_?

She felt Maggie raise her head to look at her. She glanced up to meet Maggie’s gaze.

_Because I want to know more about her._

Lucy took Maggie’s hand and interlaced their fingers. _I loved her._

_I know._

_I miss her,_ she said and started to cry against Maggie’s chest.

She felt Maggie run her fingers through her hair. _I know._

Over time, Lucy learned various tidbits about the women she was involved with. She learned that Alex, if she wasn’t scheduled to work an operation, always wore her father’s watch to work.

_It was the last thing my dad gave me before he died. Having it on while I’m working… just makes me feel closer to him, you know?_

Lucy did.

She learned that Maggie’s favourite breakfast was crispy toast and black coffee.

_That’s disgusting, Sawyer._

_See! Someone agrees with me!_

_Neither of you have taste,_ Maggie scoffed.

And that she hated Valentine’s day.

_My parents…well, mainly my dad, but my mom definitely didn’t try to stop him, they kicked me out that day after they found out. I was fourteen._

_I’m sorry,_ she said and pulled Maggie close. She felt the shuddering breath Maggie took as she worked to fight back tears. _It’s their loss, because you’re such an amazing woman, Mags._

It was perfect, aside from the reappearance and subsequent betrayal by Jeremiah Danvers, Alex going rogue and nearly getting launched into space and then nearly dying a few weeks later after being kidnapped by a psychopath.

As she sat by Alex’s bedside along with Maggie, Lucy mulled those events over and, as she took in the way that Alex’s chest rose and fell without a ventilator, slowly started to relax. Despite it all, they were all alive and in one piece. The men responsible for all the misery they had faced during their slow courtship were either missing or sitting in a cell in the deepest, darkest areas of the DEO with a broken nose and crushed larynx, courtesy of Alex and Lucy, respectfully.

It was only when Alex opened her eyes, did Lucy fully relax. Then, Alex and Maggie dropped a bombshell on her.

-

“You-you what?” Lucy stammered.

“Love you,” Alex said. She glanced at Maggie who smiled. “Both of us do, Luce.”

“I-I…” Panic clawed at Lucy’s throat. It didn’t go unnoticed by either of them.

Maggie took Lucy’s hand. “Hey, Luce, breathe, sweetheart,” she said gently. She brushed a hand against Lucy’s cheek. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it back, we just want to let you know.”

Lucy bit her lip. She wanted to say, she really did. But she couldn’t, not yet.

“I’m sorry.”

Maggie kissed her. “Don’t be,” she murmured against Lucy’s lips before pulling back.

“You’re ready when you’re ready, Lucy,” Alex said, then patted the side of the DEO-issue gurney that was currently free of wires. “Now, come sit next to me?”

Lucy nodded. “I can do that.”

-

Lucy booked a ticket for New York two days later.

“This isn’t me running away,” she told them, standing in the airport with a duffle bag over her shoulder.

“We know,” Maggie said.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” Lucy promised.

“We’ll be waiting,” Alex said.

They both kissed her goodbye.

“Love you, Lucy,” Maggie said, leaning against Alex’s shoulder. Alex nodded alongside her.

Lucy squeezed their hands. “I know,” she said before heading off towards security.

She glanced back just as she reached the scanners. Alex and Maggie were still standing there, watching. Alex waved. Maggie blew her a kiss. She smiled.

“Ma’am, don’t forget to remove your ring,” one of the TSA agents spoke up.

“Huh?” Lucy glanced to her wedding ring. “Oh, right.”

She pulled it off and gently placed it in the smaller bin. She tried to ignore how awkward her hand felt without it.

-

New York was three hours ahead of National City. It meant that Lucy had energy to spare when the plane touched down at LaGuardia.

“Lucy!” Lucy turned to see Marie’s sister, Jasmine. She hurried over and found herself pulled in a tight hug. “Oh, I missed you!”

Lucy closed her eyes. “I missed you too, Jas.” She had kept in touch with Marie’s sisters over the years and was closer to them than she was Lois.

She pulled away to take in the woman before her. Her eyes widened. “You’re pregnant.”

“Mhm, four months.” Jasmine nodded. She gave Lucy a mock reproachful look. “Something that you’d know if you’d kept up with your phone calls.”

Lucy felt herself blush. “It’s not like it was on purpose!” she protested. “I’ve been meaning to call, honest! Things’ve just been…busy.”

“Uh huh.” The wink she gave Lucy told her that Jasmine wasn’t truly upset with her. Jasmine put a hand on her hip. “So, what brings you to New York?”

Lucy bit her lip. She shuffled her duffle bag in her hands. “I, uh, I met someone,” she said.

To Lucy’s surprise, Jasmine looked thrilled at the news. “Here?”

“No.” Lucy shook her head. “Back in National City. I, I came here to visit Marie. To talk.”

Jasmine smiled sadly at her. “Oh, Lucy…”

“Can we not, just for right now?” she pleaded. “At least, not while we’re standing in the middle LaGuardia?”

“Oh, of course.” Jasmine took Lucy’s duffle bag despite her protests. She fixed Lucy with a look. “I’m pregnant, Lucy Lane, not an invalid.”

Wisely, Lucy said nothing.

-

“Do you know what you’re having?” Lucy asked as Jasmine drove.

“A girl.” She glanced at Lucy. “Lucy, you should know…”

Lucy was immediately on guard. “Know what?”

“Derek and I, we, we were planning on naming the baby Marie.” Lucy’s breath caught in her throat. “And we were wondering if you wanted to be her godmother.”

Lucy blinked back tears. She placed her hand on Jasmine’s. “It would be my honour.”

-

They pulled up outside of the house that Lucy and Marie had shared.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Jasmine. “I thought you were taking me to a hotel,” she said.

Jasmine waved her hand. “Please, family doesn’t let family sleep in a hotel when they’re visiting.” She got out of the car. “Besides, this is your house.”

Lucy looked at the brownstone apprehensively. Aside from when she would leave campus during winter break, Lucy hadn’t stayed in that house in nearly six years.

“To be honest, I thought you and Victoria would’ve sold it after I left for National City,” she admitted as she walked up the stairs to the front door.

Jasmine gave her a look. “Never.” She pushed the door open. “You and Marie built your life here.”

Lucy flipped the light switch on. She was surprised to see that the place was fully furnished. She gave Jasmine a questioning look.

Jasmine shrugged, sheepish. “We decided to refurbish and add some a few things,” she said. “In case you decided to come back and visit.”

A few things was putting it politely. Lucy had taken just about everything, save for the bed and a few bookshelves, when she left for West Point and then National City.

Lucy nodded. “It looks great.” It looked like a good sense for interior design was an Alexander thing. She made her way to the staircase.

“Lucy.” She stopped. “The bed is new.”

“Thank you.”

-

Lucy tossed her duffle bag into the corner of the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling. The bed was new, like Jasmine had said. Everything in the bedroom was. It made the memories sting a little less.

She sighed, suddenly feeling tired. Whatever energy she had when had landed was now gone. In its place was a bone aching exhaustion.

“Might as well…get some rest…” she grumbled.

Her breathing evened out within moments of her closing her eyes. The room fell silent, save for her soft breaths.

-

It was almost four in the evening when Lucy woke up again. She fumbled for her phone and winced when she saw the time. She’d overslept by a longshot. She sighed. Well, there were worse things that could have happened. At least National City was three hours behind New York, she could deal with that kind of jetlag easy.

Lucy got up. She left the bedroom without a second glance.

She made her way downstairs, stopping halfway to taken in the rest of the house. Standing where she did, it looked so different than how she remembered it.

 _Maybe that’s a good thing_ , a part of her whispered.

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to dwell on this now. Her stomach growled. She nodded at the sound.

“Yeah, food is a good idea.”

She knew just the place to go.

-

Lucy stepped into the coffee shop where she and Marie had first met, all those years ago. It hadn’t changed much, there were new faces behind the bar and some of the tackier chairs that Marie had once wrinkled her nose at were gone. The shop was relatively uncrowded.

She made her way to the counter.

“What can I get you?” a perky brunette asked. Her name tag read Heather.

“A red eye with four shots of espresso,” Lucy said. It was something she had on the regular when she lived in New York, and it was what Marie had inadvertently spilled over Lucy when they first ran into each other.

Heather whistled. “You just get in?” she asked as she rang Lucy up.

A faint smile twitched at Lucy’s lips. “Something like that.” She eyed a sandwich and several pastries. Her stomach growled angrily. “I hate to do this to you, but could I get two of those muffin things and that panini over there?”

Heather laughed. “Sure thing!”

Lucy paid and found a seat by the fireplace. It wasn’t the best seat in the house, but it kept her back from being exposed and it allowed her the greatest view of the area.

 _Sorry, I know it sucks, we can sit somewhere else_ , she had apologised during their second date.

 _Lucy, it’s okay, I get it, it helps you feel safe_. Lucy had ducked her head, embarrassed. Marie had just continued to smile before taking her hand. _There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually pretty reassuring to know that you’ve got my back._

 _Always_.

“Red eye with four shots for Lane!”

The bellow from the pick up counter snapped Lucy from her memories. She went up and grabbed her items, carefully balancing the muffins on the plate holding the panini, before making her way back to her seat. She sat back before tucking in.

Lucy spent the next several hours just sitting in the coffee shop, sipping on her coffee as she watched people move in and out and mill about. Occasionally, she’d glance to the door when the bell chimed. Eventually, she noticed that things were winding down.

“Time to close?” she asked as one of the baristas came over. It was Heather.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry,” she apologised.

“Don’t be,” Lucy said. She stood and dusted off her pants.

“Just out of curiosity,” Heather spoke up. “Are you a regular here? I’m new, but it just seems like you were pretty familiar with this place.”

Lucy bit her lip. “I…I used to be,” she said. “I, uh, I met my wife here almost twenty years ago.”

“Oh, that’s great! Is she going to come in with you tomorrow or is she back wherever you two are living?”

“She’s dead.” For once, the words came easy to Lucy.

“I’m so sorry,” Heather apologised.

Lucy shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said. “She…she’s been dead almost six years ago, now. I’m just in town visiting her family and I figured I’d stop by here at least once while I’m in the area.”

She took a deep breath. “Anyway, I should get going so you all can close up.” She paused. “Before I leave, there used to be a flower shop down the street that stayed open late, is it still here?”

“Belladonna’s?” Lucy nodded. “Oh, yeah, it’s still there. Should still be open too.”

“Thanks.” Lucy dropped a few twenties on the table.

“Oh you don’t have to--”

“I never dropped those,” she said and gave Heather a wink. “Just make sure you split them with everyone else, alright?”

Then, she was gone.

-

 _Six rows back_. Lucy turned left. _Fourteen in_. Leaves crunched under her shoes as she walked through the graveyard. One of her hands held a bouquet of blue hyacinth, Marie’s favourites, once upon a time.

She stopped just short of Marie’s grave to see a woman already standing there. It was Victoria.

“Victoria?”

Victoria turned around.

“Lucy?” Lucy walked over and found herself pulled into a tight hug. “Oh, it’s you! How good to see you again!”

“G-good to see you too,” she gasped out. She took a deep breath once Victoria released her.

“Jasmine said she picked you up from the airport, but you didn’t say anything beforehand so I didn’t know how true that was,” Victoria said.

“It was a very last minute thing on my part, believe me.”

“Uh huh.” Victoria placed her hands on her hips. “So, what brings you back to New York?”

Lucy bit her lip. She brought her free hand up to rub her wedding ring.

“I, um, I met someone,” she said.

“Who, James?”

She shook her head. “No, not him.” On another Earth, maybe, but not this one. “Uh, actually, I, uh, it’s not just someone, it’s someones. As in more than one. Two, to be more precise.”

“Oh?” There was no judgement in Victoria’s tone, only curiosity.

“Yeah.” She shrugged.

“What’re their names?”

“Alex and Maggie.” Lucy smiled slightly. “I met them through work.” She glanced at Marie’s headstone. “We, we had some stuff happen pretty recently and I just, I had to come back. To talk.”

Victoria sat down on the grass in front of Marie’s grave. Lucy followed her.

“What happened?” Victoria asked.

Lucy looked off into the distance. “They told me they loved me.”

“That’s great!” Lucy looked back at her, stricken. “Or not?”

“I wanted to say it back. But…” Her eyes returned to Marie’s headstone. “I just…” She took a shuddering breath. “I loved Marie.”

“I know.”

“I love Alex and Maggie.” A tear made its way down Lucy’s face. “I love them.”

“That’s not a bad thing, Lucy.”

“I know that,” Lucy said. “A part of me just feels like I’m doing something wrong. That I’m dishonoring Marie’s memory by falling love with two other people.”

“You’re not.” Lucy looked down. “Lucy, look at me.”

Lucy glanced back up.

Victoria gently cupped Lucy’s face. “You are a wonderful, noble person,” she said. “I am so happy that you and my sister got to share your lives the way that you did. But Marie is gone, Lucy.”

“I know that,” Lucy choked out. She had known it for years.

“I know my sister, Lucy. She wouldn’t want you to mourn forever, she would want you to be happy.”

 _If something happens to me, if what happens to the other guys starts happening to me and it ends up killing me, I want you to promise me something,_ Marie had said to Lucy one night while she was home on leave.

_What is it?_

_Promise me that you won’t make me an anchor._ Lucy had just stared at her partner, not yet-then her wife. _I mean it, promise me, Lucy. I don’t care how long it takes, just promise me that you’ll find someone after me, someone that makes you happy._

_You make me happy, Mar._

_Promise me, Lucy. I love you, so much. But I know you. Don’t make me an anchor, don’t make me your reason to forgo happiness later on. Please._

_I promise,_ she had said and kissed Marie’s hand. She had no way of knowing that almost two years later, Marie would be dead.

Lucy swallowed harshly against the lump in her throat.

“Do they make you happy, Lucy?” Victoria asked quiet.

Lucy nodded. Then, her tears started to fall in earnest. “They make me so happy,” she said and started to sob. She collapsed against Victoria, crying harder than she had in years. The bouquet of hyacinths lay next to her, in front of the grave, as she continued to weep.

-

Lucy flew back to National City a day later.

-

Taking the red eye back to National City meant it would be too early for anyone to be awake from the airport. She arrived at 2 AM and took an Uber home.

Lucy walked into her flat. She flipped the light switch on and had to blink against the sudden influx of light. She hadn’t been here in months, having practically already moved in with Maggie and Alex ages ago. She doubted she even had food in the fridge and if she did, she doubted it was edible.

She dropped her bag and went to her bedroom. She grabbed the stool from under her bed and climbed on top of it. It took her a few moments of rummaging around before her hands felt what she was looking for. She pulled it down. It was a box made of cherry wood with both of the crests of the Signal and JAG Corps carved into its lid. It was an anniversary present from Marie, who had it made for her after she graduated from law school. Over the years, it had come to hold important mementos.

Lucy walked over to her bed, sat down, and opened the box. She looked over the items.

A pair of tickets from the first Yankees game she and Marie went to. A photo of her and Marie on their first date after 9/11. A set of earrings that had belonged to Lucy’s mother. Marie’s beaten Casio watch, a birthday gift from Lucy. The St. Christopher medal that Marie had sent Lucy when she was in Germany.

It was a collection of items that symbolized the most important moments in Lucy’s life, with a majority representing the relationship she and Marie had shared. Lucy cherished each and every one of them.

And now, she was going to add one more.

She took a breath and closed her eyes. Then, with a careful, gentle reverence, Lucy removed her wedding ring and placed it inside the box. She exhaled and opened her eyes to look at the ring that was now nestled amongst the various keepsakes of her life.

_Promise me, Lucy, that you won’t make me an anchor, that you’ll find someone after me, someone who makes you happy._

“I promise,” she whispered to the darkness of her room.

-

With the jetlag and emotional rollercoaster she had been on the last week or so, Lucy wasn’t entirely surprised to wake up to find that she had slept for 18 hours. She was surprised, however, to wake up to someone pounding furiously on her door. She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she grumbled out around a yawn. She opened the door, ready to bite the head off of whoever it was that dared to wake her up, only to find the words dying in her throat.

It was Alex and Maggie. Alex’s fist was half-extended, having stopped mid-knock.

Lucy blinked. “What are you two doing here?”

“James told us your flight got in pretty early this morning, but weren’t answering your phone,” Alex said, suddenly looking very sheepish.

“We came to check up on you,” Maggie finished.

Lucy braced her hand against the doorway. “I got in at 0200, yeah,” she said. She yawned again. “I’ve been sleeping most of the day off because of jetlag.”

Alex nodded. “That’s what we figured had--” she stopped abruptly. She stared at Lucy’s hand.

Lucy gave her a confused look, and looked to ask Maggie if she knew what was wrong with Alex, only to find her also staring at her hand. She followed their line of sight.

Oh.

They were staring at her ring, or lack thereof.

“Lucy…”

“Does…does that mean what we think it does?” Alex asked shakily.

Lucy smiled and tugged them both into her flat. She intertwined her fingers with theirs before brushing her lips against Alex’s knuckles and then Maggie’s.

“It does,” she said. She let go of their hands to wrap her arms around Alex’s shoulders and kissed her. Then, she moved to do the same to Maggie, only to find that the detective had beaten her to the punch. She let her eyes slip shut at the feel of Maggie’s lips against hers.

“I love you,” she said, once they broke apart. She looked at the two of them. “Both of you. I love you, so much.”

Alex was the one that pulled them into a group hug. Lucy closed her eyes as they held her. She felt someone, Alex or Maggie, press a kiss to the top of her hair.

“We love you too.”

For the first time since Marie had died, did Lucy feel truly happy. She felt at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everything I've posted this past month. Hope y'all've enjoyed the chapters. The comments I've received from y'all were awesome. I have one more chapter planned, so it should be up later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. 
> 
> As always, come and say hi to me on Tumblr @sandstonesunspear.


	31. Bonus: First Kiss - Major Detective, feat. genderfluid!Lucy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's kiss and first Pride since coming out as genderfluid. Let's see how it all goes, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bonus chapter I promised. Figured I'd end things on a fluffy note considering I spent most of the last several chapters writing angst. Hope y'all enjoy it.
> 
> Also, credit to nerdsbianhokie and change-the-rules for genderfluid!Lucy.

Lucy looked into the mirror and adjusted her battered, black West Point cap. She took a breath as she looked herself over. She eyed the ribbon, dyed to match the colours of the bisexual flag, tying her hair back and the JAG insignia pinned to her hat. Together, both made it clear who she was: a queer soldier, and proud of it.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. She glanced back up at her hat and turned it around.

_That’s not it._

Lucy flipped it back around to normal. She let a frustrated breath. Everything looked fine, but there was something missing.

“Lucy?”

She turned around to see Maggie standing behind her. She had a bemused look on her face.

“Hey,” she said. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lucy said quickly. “I’m just, you know, getting, getting ready.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow at her. “Uh huh.”

Lucy tried not to fidget. As a lawyer and a soldier who had done two tours to Afghanistan, she did _not_ fidget.

She fidgeted as Maggie’s eyebrow climbed higher.

Maggie sighed. “Luce, what’s wrong?”

Lucy shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted. She turned around to face the mirror again. “I mean, it looks fine, doesn’t it?” She did an about face. “But something’s missing.”

Maggie tilted her head. “Something…” She reached into her pocket. “Like this, maybe?”

Lucy’s brow furrowed. At first, she didn’t understand what it was Maggie was holding out to her. Then, she looked a little closer. Her eyes widened.

She reached out and gently took the offered item from Maggie. It was a genderfluid pride flag enamel pin. She turned it over in her hands, admiring the way it gleamed in the light. It was perfect.

Without a second thought, Lucy surged forward and pressed her lips to Maggie’s, drawing a noise of surprise from her. A second later, she froze.

They had kissed before, but this was the first time she and Maggie had kissed since Lucy had come out as genderfluid. The most Maggie and her had done since then was trade quick pecks to the cheeks, partly because Lucy’s schedule had been insane the past several weeks and half because she had decided to dance around the issue like a lawyer would. Even though Maggie had made it clear that she still loved Lucy, even on the he days, Lucy couldn’t help the fear that had slowly been creeping through her mind the past several weeks.

And now, she had just kissed Maggie. Granted, today she was _she_ , but she had no idea Maggie was still okay with kissing her. To make matters worse, she had just kissed Maggie without her consent.

Lucy immediately pulled away, panicked. “I’m so sorry!” she apologised. “We haven’t talked about this at all yet and I really should’ve asked and I’m so sorry that I didn’t--”

She yelped when Maggie pulled her close. She squeezed her eyes shut, both dreading and anticipating an annoyed cuff to the back of her head, only for them to fly open when she felt Maggie gently kiss her. She made a noise of surprise.  

The kiss lasted only a few seconds. When it broke, Lucy could only stand there, stunned.

Maggie grinned at her. “You’re almost as bad as Alex when it comes to the whole nervous rambling thing, you know that, Counselor?” she asked Lucy.

Lucy’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “You’re not…mad?” she asked cautiously.

“‘Course not, Luce,” she said before she flicked her in the forehead.

“I just, we haven’t talked about…this.” Lucy motioned vaguely around herself.  

Maggie wrapped her arms around Lucy’s shoulders. “I love you, Luce,” she said. “That hasn’t changed.”

Lucy had been a lawyer long enough to know when to read between the lines. She knew that the three of them had to have an extended sit down and discuss new boundaries, otherwise they all risked getting hurt.

Lucy nodded. She cleared her throat and decided to change the subject before things could get too awkward and her nerves took over. “Do you, um, do you think you can help me put it on?”

She held up the pin and gave a small, nervous grin.

“I’d love to.” Maggie took the hat from Lucy’s head and careful set the pin so that it sat across from the JAG insignia. She looked it over and nodded, then placed it back on Lucy’s hair. “Go check yourself out.”

Lucy turned back to the mirror. Her eyes lit up. That was much better.

She glanced back at Maggie and grinned happily. “Thank you,” she said.

Maggie returned the grin. She reached out for Lucy’s hand. “You ready now?”

Lucy took her hand. “Ready.”

-

Lucy stood in the crowd and took it all in. The people, the energy, the sheer happiness, it was all overwhelming. She loved it.

“Shame that Alex had that symposium!” Maggie shouted over the crowd.

Lucy nodded. It was. But at least Alex would be home soon. If things worked out, she would make it back just in time for the last day of Pride.

Lucy caught the eye of an Army veteran in the crowd. She noticed how his eyes flicked towards her hat and the pins attached to it. There was something about him that Lucy couldn’t quite figure out.

“I’ll be right back!” she shouted to Maggie.

Maggie gave her a thumbs up.

Lucy slipped away and almost immediately bumped into the veteran. She was on guard in an instant.

He noticed and quickly held his hands up. “I’d like a picture of your hat,” he said in lieu of an actual greeting.

Lucy’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“Your hat. Well, the pins on your hat,” he clarified. “My daughter, she’s thinking about applying to West Point in a few years, but she’s…she’s not sure that she can. Because she’s trans.”

Understanding dawned on Lucy. “And you want her to see my hat so that she can know that…”

“That you can be queer and serve? Yes.” He nodded. “I tell her that, but I’m just a cis gay man. It’s not quite the same coming from me.”

Lucy took her hat off. She turned it over in her hands. She had had her West Point cap since her freshman year. It had been with her through four years at the Academy, four years of law school, two tours in Afghanistan, and nearly 20 years of service.

_Maybe it’s time for it to go on a new adventure._

“Tell you what,” she said. She held her hat out to him. “How about you give it to her?”

“Are-are you sure?” He looked stunned.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy spotted Maggie approaching. She returned her attention to him and pressed her into his hands.

“I’m sure.” She smiled. “Just, when you give it to her, tell her not to give up. If she wants to go to the Academy, she needs to not give up. The policy that got passed by the current admin, it won’t last because people are fighting. And they won’t stop.”

“I will.” He nodded and clutched the cap. “Thank you.”

Lucy tipped her head. She watched him walk off in the opposite direction and join another man and a young woman who had to be his daughter. She jumped when she felt Maggie wrap her arm around her waist.

“New friend?” Maggie asked into her ear.

“Something like that.” Lucy watched as his daughter’s eyes lit up at the cap. He motioned in Lucy’s direction. His daughter’s eyes widened even further.

Lucy smiled and gave a small wave before turning her attention back to her amused girlfriend.

“I feel like there’s a story there, Lane,” Maggie remarked.

“There is.” She leaned forward and kissed Maggie. She let her eyes slip shut as she savoured the feel of Maggie’s lips against hers. She felt Maggie pull her closer and tuned out everything else.

They broke apart when air became an issue. Lucy was delighted to see a rare blush dusting Maggie’s cheeks.

“I’ll tell you the story later,” she told Maggie once the kiss had ended.

“Sounds good to me.”

They turned their attention back to the parade.

“Maggie.”

“Yeah?”

Lucy bit her lip. “Thank you.” For coming to Pride with me, for loving me, for staying with me.

She felt Maggie place a hand under her chin. She allowed her head to be turned so that she could look at Maggie.

Maggie kissed her. “Love you, Luce,” she murmured against Lucy’s lips. “All of you.”

Lucy blinked back tears.

Both of them startled at a loud roar from the crowd as Supergirl came flying down the street. They watched as Kara hovered above the crowd, a rainbow flag tied around her neck in place of her trademark red cape, before shooting off.

Lucy and Maggie traded fond looks.

Lucy slipped her hand into Maggie’s and watched alongside her as the parade resumed. She smiled wistfully as the floats continued on.

_This is absolutely perfect._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to stop by on tumblr @sandstoneunspear to say hi or toss some ideas my way. If you're feeling generous and/or like what you've read, consider buying me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/sandspears
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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